Amazon has officially started production on its live action God Of War TV series, and it looks and sounds very faithful to the 2018 reboot.
Video game adaptations have become a common part of the modern TV and film landscape, with Sonic The Hedgehog, Fallout, A Minecraft Movie, and HBO’s The Last Of Us being among the most successful so far.
There are countless other adaptations in the works, with Mortal Kombat 2 and The Super Mario Galaxy Movie just around the corner, but one of the more unexpected is Amazon’s God Of War series.
On Friday (January 27), Amazon confirmed it has officially started production on the series and shared a first-look photo. It doesn’t look bad per say, but it looks about as awkward (and creatively redundant) as you’d expect from a very faithful recreation of the 2018 reboot in TV form.
The photo shows Ryan Hurst as Kratos and Callum Vinson as Atreus, as the latter practises his archery skills. The pose and the look on Kratos’ face are very odd though, like it’s a cosplayer helping out in a comedy sketch.
Hurst is best known for roles in Sons Of Anarchy and The Walking Dead, but he also notably played Thor in 2022’s God of War Ragnarök, so this is an interesting pivot into Kratos’ shoes.
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Vinson, meanwhile, starred in the Chucky TV series and is set to play a young Jason Voorhees in the upcoming Friday The 13th spin-off series, Crystal Lake.
Other confirmed cast members include Mandy Patinkin as Odin, Ed Skrein as Baldur, Max Parker as Heimdall, Ólafur Darri Ólafsson as Thor, Teresa Palmer as Sif, Alastair Duncan as Mimir, Jeff Gulka as Sindri, and Danny Woodburn as Brok.
The show’s synopsis makes it clear that it’s adapting the story of the 2018 game: ‘The God Of War series storyline follows father and son Kratos and Atreus as they embark on a journey to spread the ashes of their wife and mother, Faye,’ a press release description reads. ‘Through their adventures, Kratos tries to teach his son to be a better god, while Atreus tries to teach his father how to be a better human.’
The game’s director Cory Barlog is an executive producer on the show, alongside Maril Davis, Naren Shankar, Hermen Hulst, and others. The most promising sign is the fact it’s led by showrunner Ronald D. Moore, who is known for his work on Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica, Outlander, and Apple’s For All Mankind.
Amazon has already ordered two seasons of the show, so it’s clearly confident it’s going to be a hit out the gate. A release date hasn’t been officially announced, but based on TV production schedules, it’s expected to debut in 2027.
If you’re hoping for a new God Of War game to coincide with its launch though, you might be out of luck. Just recently, Santa Monica Studio announced it was in early development on a God Of War Trilogy Remake.
Cory Barlog’s next game, however, is expected to be shown later this year. It’s unclear if it’s related to the God Of War franchise but even if it is, it’s not expected to be a mainline sequel.
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