Creative director wants God of War adapted as Witcher-style TV series

The Witcher is out on Netflix. The Witcher is a hit on Netflix. The Witcher is getting a second season on Netflix, and possibly many more after that. There are a lot of shows out there competing right now for the title of “the next Game of Thrones,” and this one, at least, is off to a good start.

The Witcher is a little unique in that, while it’s adapted from a series of books by legendarily grumpy author Andrzej Sapkowski, a lot of people first heard about it thanks to The Witcher video games from CD Projekt Red, and you can definitely see the influence of the games on the show. Henry Cavill, in particular, is clearly taking a lot of cues from the video game version of Geralt of Rivia.

This has some industry types thinking: could other video game series be adapted as TV shows, and get in on this current fantasy/sci-fi boom? Cory Barlog, who served as creative director on 2018’s excellent God of War game, is pretty clear about what he wants to see on the small screen:

A God of War Netflix show? I can see it. Although the series has always had a pretty good story, the most recent game seems like it make the jump to a different medium especially easily.

The God of War series follows Kratos, a Greek demigod who, in the first several games, massacres the gods of ancient Greece, from Poseidon to Hades to Zeus. I mean, he just wrecks them, in spectacularly violent fashion. Honestly, it’s heinous, X-rated stuff:

And that could potentially make a good show, but the team at SIE Santa Monica Studio really upped their game with 2018’s God of War, which finds an older, wiser, slightly less maniacally violent Kratos living with his young son in Scandinavia, and dealing with a whole new pantheon of ancient gods. It’s quieter, slower, more dialogue-driven, and just a better fit for longform storytelling.

Or for a movie; given how comparatively little sprawl God of War has — at least when compared to something like The Witcher books — a movie or series of movies might be the best way to go, but I can see it working as a TV series, too.

But whether God of War is adapted as a movie or a TV show, it would have to get out of Sony first. As Forbes points out, Sony does have a TV and movie production arm — PlayStation Productions — but so far, they’re doing a pretty crummy job of actually getting anything done. There’s been a Last of Us movie in development forever, and the Uncharted movie has gone through six directors, although with Tom Holland cast as a young Nathan Drake it looks like that one is finally coming together. Where God of War is concerned, I agree with Forbes that, if Sony would be better off handing the rights to Netflix and let them handle finding a showrunner who can execute on a solid vision.

I think we probably will see more video game series adapted for TV in the near future. Showtime is currently at work on a Halo series, and for those pining for early God of War-style ultraviolence, Warner Bros. just released a trailer for its new, R-rated Mortal Kombat movie:

I mean, it’s not a glossy Netflix series, but it’s something.

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