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Something to look forward to: Fans' longtime wish to see Dave Bautista appear in a movie or TV show based on a video game is coming true. It's been confirmed that the wrestler-turned-actor has replaced Ryan Hurst as Kratos in Amazon's upcoming live-action God of War series.
It was back in January when we heard that Sons of Anarchy actor Hurst, who voiced Thor in God of War Ragnarök, would be taking on the lead role in Amazon's show. The news didn't go down too well with fans of the series, who had been hoping to see Bautista play Kratos.
Unfortunately for Hurst, he tore a bicep during the filming of a stunt for the show. The severe injury required surgery and would have delayed the restart of production until 2027. Rather than waiting, Amazon and co-producer Sony soon announced that the part was being recast.
The six-foot-four Hurst had piled on 40 pounds of muscle and was starting to resemble Kratos a lot more than he did in that first photo of him in costume.
Does a Kratos s**t in the woods?
Bautista famously dropped a massive 75 pounds back in 2024, saying he felt "uncomfortably big" after bulking up rapidly for his role in Knock at the Cabin. He also said he wanted to improve his physical comfort, protect his joints, and stop being typecast as a giant muscle-bound actor. It looks like he's going to have to make an exception for God of War and start packing on plenty of mass to play Kratos.
Variety writes that production on the show is expected to restart in mid-October, and all scenes with Hurst as Kratos are being reshot.
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God of War has been given a two-season order, with both seasons being shot back-to-back. The show will be based on the story of the most recent games, as Kratos deals with his son and shouts "Boy!" quite a lot. It will follow the pair as they embark on a journey to spread the ashes of Faye, Kratos's wife and Atreus's mother. Amazon will no doubt be hoping that it can repeat the same success it has found with its other big video game-based franchise, Fallout.
While this will be his first appearance in a video game-based TV show or film, Bautista has long wanted to appear in a Gears of War movie. The actor said in 2018 that he was pushing for a movie to be made along with the GoW rights holders. It never happened, but he did become a playable character in Gears of War 5.