Things are continuing to be weird with Amazon’s upcoming high-profile adaptation of God of War, the storied video game series that has a new installment, God of War: Laufey, out next year. This latest bit of news indicates what will be another recasting in the show, and once again, for one of its leads. This would be a big change coming in season 2.
Here’s where we are:
- Sons of Anarchy actor Ryan Hurst was cast as Kratos in the show, while Callum Vinson, age 12, was cast as his son Atreus.
- The first official image from the film (above) was widely criticized online for not looking great, causing Ryan Hurst to take to social media to say, “Don’t believe everything you see on the internet, kids.” The implication of that was somewhat unclear, as it was a real photo.
- This summer, Ryan Hurst tore his bicep while filming the show. It required surgery and a long recovery process that was set to delay the show’s filming until 2027.
- Then, last month, it was reported that God of War would recast Kratos instead, with Hurst losing the role instead of delaying filming. No new actor has been announced, but it requires re-filming episodes Hurst already shot.
- Now, there is a casting listing for season 2 of the show that says that co-lead Atreus will be recast with a new actor rather than the series sticking with Callum Vinson for the part. Thor’s daughter Thud would also be recast. The new casting listing wants actors age 14-17. Vinson is currently 12 and would likely be close to the bottom edge of that range for season 2, but it appears the show wants to go older. Vinson does look quite young.
- Originally, God of War seasons 1 and 2 were reportedly going to shoot back-to-back, but it’s unclear if that can happen now between both recastings. I’ve asked Amazon for comment about all this and will report if I hear back.
In the case of Atreus, I am very much reminded of The Last of Us season 2. The jump between seasons reflected the jump between games, and the decision to stick with actress Bella Ramsey was criticized for not echoing the physical difference we saw in the games in terms of the character growing up. Some thought she should have been recast based on that alone, even if she was around the correct age for TLOU2 Ellie at that point. “He won’t look old enough” does seem like the primary reason something like this would happen in a similar situation here in God of War (Ramsey was not and will not be recast).
As you can see by all of the above, this is not exactly a smooth production thus far, it would seem. There has been a lot of skepticism about the existence of the incredibly ambitious series to begin with, but nothing we’ve seen/nothing that has happened seems terribly reassuring, and this new recast report raises even more questions.
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Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy.