The God of War series has cast its Kratos, so we now know who will play this iconic warrior in the new Prime Video series!
Video game movies and TV shows have taken off in recent years, with Hollywood finally realizing how to make the medium work in adaptations. Prime Video has already seen monster success with Fallout and an upcoming Tomb Raider show.
Now, Deadline reports that Ryan Hurst of Sons of Anarchy fame will play Kratos in Prime Video’s upcoming God of War series. The show has already received a two-season order with pre-production underway in Vancouver.
The series comes from Ronald D. Moore, no stranger to fantastic adaptations, as he brought Outlander to life, as well as For All Mankind and the 2000s reboot of Battlestar Galactica. The show will put its own spin on the modern reboot installments of the long-running hit game series, which has become one of the biggest titles around.
The series began with 2005’s God of War, a PlayStation 2 exclusive focusing on Kratos, a Spartan soldier on a grand quest to take on the Greek gods. The game was a smash hit with both critics and players alike, with a 2007 sequel and a 2010 entry for the PS3. That was on top of some games for PlayStation’s handheld consoles.
In 2018, the series was revived for the PS4 with a more epic tale as an aged Kratos cared for his son, Arteus, amid a new battle against the Norse gods. It was not only a best-selling success but also won numerous Game of the Year awards. A follow-up, God Of War: Ragnarok, followed in 2022, and there's buzz about another sequel in the works.
Per Deadline, the series sticks close to the latter games, with Kratos raising his son while on a journey to scatter the ashes of his wife, Faye. That leads to conflict with various gods.
Hurst is a fantastic choice for Kratos. There’s ironic casting as he voiced Thor in Ragnarok (earning a BAFTA nomination), yet also fits Kratos. At six and a half feet tall, he has the physique needed for the role, the gravely voice gamers love so well, and with his bushy beard he even resembles the character.
The actor is best known for his role as biker Opie in the FX drama Sons of Anarchy, so he knows about handling action scenes and will be a good fit for the darker elements of the GOW saga. His other credits include Outsiders, The Walking Dead and The Abandons, showcasing his rough demeanor, physicality, and all the other traits that would lend themselves to playing Kratos.
The show still has to announce the rest of the cast before production begins, but in the meantime, fans of God of War can be confident they have the perfect Kratos!
Sons of Anarchy is streaming on Hulu, if you want to check out some of Hurt's previous work.