Dave Bautista has landed the lead role of Kratos in Amazon’s live-action adaptation of God of War, stepping in after original star Ryan Hurst was forced to exit the project following a serious injury.
Hurst, roughly four months into filming, tore his bicep during a stunt on set and required surgery, a setback significant enough that Amazon MGM Studios and Sony Pictures Television opted to recast the physically demanding role rather than delay production further.
Bautista, a former WWE champion known for his extensive action résumé including Guardians of the Galaxy‘s Drax, is well-suited to step into the role on short notice given the physicality it requires.
He’s coming directly off another physically intense project, the upcoming Highlander reboot alongside Henry Cavill, also produced through Amazon MGM.
Production on God of War is expected to resume in mid-October following a prep period in September, continuing in Vancouver, where the series has been based throughout filming.
The series, based on the 2018 and 2022 God of War video games and showrun by Ronald D. Moore, follows Kratos and his son Atreus, played by Callum Vinson, as they journey to spread the ashes of Kratos’s late wife from the highest peak in the Norse realm of Midgard, at her dying request.
Amazon has ordered two seasons of the series, which will film back-to-back.
Fan reaction to Bautista’s casting has been notably more positive than the response to early first-look images of Hurst in the role, which drew significant online criticism after their release earlier this year.
