Dave Bautista in Talks for God of War TV Series, Replacing Ryan Hurst as Kratos
Gamers and TV fans were stunned last month when news was revealed that Ryan Hurst, the star of the upcoming God of War TV series, had been injured on the job, and production had been paused. Hours after this was confirmed came the even more shocking reveal that Prime Video was going to replace Hurst in the title role and move forward with a new actor. This was done in part because the delay in waiting for him to get back on his feet would have forced an almost year-long pause in production, which would have cost a tremendous amount of money. Now, they’ve found their replacement.
Just a few weeks after confirming that Hurst would not be playing the part anymore, Prime Video and Sony Pictures Television are in talks with Guardians of the Galaxy star Dave Bautista to take on the role of Kratos. Deadline brings word of the update, revealing that the plan is still in place for the two seasons of the show that have been ordered to film back-to-back. With four months’ work of episodes in the can, production will need to reshoot a lot with Bautista in the role, but the good news is his casting is one fans were hoping for.
Dave Bautista Is the New Kratos in God of War TV Show
The initial reports about Ryan Hurst’s injury on the set of God of War revealed the Sons of Anarchy star suffered a torn his bicep while on the set of the series. According to reports, the injury was bad enough to require surgery, and as a result, he wouldn’t be able to work for quite a while, prompting the team to consider alternatives as its lead would potentially be unable to appear on camera until next year.
It’s worth noting that major productions have seen big pauses like this happen as a result of actor injuries on set before, like Star Wars: The Force Awakens, which had to undergo a major delay when Harrison Ford was injured on set. What makes the God of War story so different is that Hurst’s character is almost certainly in the majority of the scenes in the show, meaning even if work continued without him, it would only be so much of the story.
There’s also the matter of his young co-star, with young actor Callum Vinson playing the role of Atreus, Kratos’ son. Vinson is no stranger to acting in big productions, but if his co-star was out of commission for almost a year, he would no doubt grow enough that it would break all the continuity across scenes.
It’s worth noting that back in 2023, when the God of War TV series was first announced to be in the works with Sony and Amazon, ComicBook advocated for Bautista to take the part. Even then, he seemed like a great fit, as he’d already proven himself as a performer in the likes of the Guardians of the Galaxy movies and Dune, but now it seems like even more of a no-brainer choice. When news spread that Hurst would be replaced as Kratos, even some ComicBook readers made it clear that Bautista was the right choice, with our fan poll revealing 23% of fans wanted him to take it.
Based on how quickly Amazon and Sony have been moving to get a replacement Kratos cast for the show, it seems likely that this could come together quickly. According to the trade, the timeline for the new Kratos is to get the ball rolling in August, with a plan for filming to resume in October. What remains to be seen is how much this delay will affect the release of the God of War TV series. No official timetable had been revealed for when they planned for the show to debut, but it seems likely the wait might get a little longer. That said, some fans will at least be excited that a performer with an obvious muscle mass befitting Kratos is now holding the Leviathan Axe.