Ryan Hurst will no longer play Kratos in the upcoming God Of War TV show adaptation. The Odyssey star’s exit is not over creative differences or anything like that. Hurst was apparently injured on set last month, leading to the recasting. As of now, there is no news on who will fill his sizeable shoes. Sony Pictures and Amazon/MGM have yet to announce a replacement.
This is a shame, as I’ve been a big fan of Hurst since Sons of Anarchy, where he played Opie, the very best character on the show. He also played Beta in The Walking Dead, and most recently Mentor in The Odyssey.
I’m still a little leary of this project. I enjoyed the reboot of the video games, but I’m not sure we need to see it retold as a TV show. There’s always something a bit strange about retelling narrative-heavy games in movie format. The Last Of Us did an okay job with its first season, but completely crashed out in Season 2 on HBO. Part of the problem? The games did a really good job at telling these stories and the actors playing Joel and Ellie were simply better fits than the ones cast for the show. If anything, I’d have preferred a series set in the same universe as The Last Of Us but with all new characters and a different story, similar to Amazon’s Fallout series.
That same thing applies to God Of War. I’d love to see Kratos in some new setting, taking on a new pantheon. I say this as someone who loves the Norse setting of the modern God Of War games, and I thought it was pretty cool that the actor who voiced Thor in the games ended up cast as Kratos in the film. It’s just that I probably won’t like the show as much as the games even if it’s good. (Though the one advantage shows have over games is that you don’t spend so much of the time in combat, so the focus can be more geared toward story).
The recasting news comes by way of Variety which notes that a number of scenes will need to be shot entirely. Whoever is cast will now take on the role of Kratos as he and his son Atreus, played by Callum Vinson, battle their way through the forests and mountains of ancient Norse lands, traversing planes and coming into contact with gods and Valkyrie and other fearsome foes along the way.
Other cast members include Max Parker as Heimdall, Ólafur Darri Ólafsson as Thor, Mandy Patinkin as Odin, Alastair Duncan as Mimir, Danny Woodburn and Jeff Gulka as as dwarven brothers Brok and Sindri, and Ed Skrein as Baldur. If you’re in a hurry to see the film, I recommend picking up the first game. I enjoyed it more than its sequel, God Of War: Ragnarok. Filming is set to kick back up sometime this fall.
God Of War is being helmed by showrunner Ronald D. Moore, whose past work includes Battlestar Galactica, For All Mankind and Outlander. Hopefully it’s great and hopefully a new Kratos is found soon. Who would you pick to play him? Let me know on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook.