Ryan Hurst was initially set to bring Kratos to life in Prime Video's God of War series, but he will unfortunately exit the show after an on-set injury in late June, as reported by Deadline. The Sons of Anarchy and Remember the Titans actor tore a bicep while performing a stunt for the show and had to undergo surgery as a result. Thankfully, he is now recovering, but this process can take more than half a year due to the post-surgery treatment. Given the physicality that a role like Kratos demands, it wouldn't be safe for Hurst to resume production until 2027 at the earliest.
Unfortunately, the studio couldn't accommodate waiting until next year to resume shooting. As a result, the difficult decision to recast the role was made to allow Hurst a safe recovery in the meantime. Pre-production for Prime Video's God of War is now expected to start in mid-August, with filming beginning in mid-October.
Hurst's original casting was met with a lot of excitement by fans. After all, not only does he look the part, but he also has experience with the franchise from voicing the role of Thor in 2022's acclaimed video game God of War Ragnarök. Furthermore, Hurst had put on 40 pounds of muscle to bring Kratos to life, and Amazon had released a picture of him in the character's makeup and costume right next to Callum Vinson's Atreus. As such, this recent development is also heartbreaking for fans who were eager to see the actor's portrayal of one of the most iconic video game characters ever created.
Principal photography for Prime Video's God of War started in March in Vancouver, which means up to three months' worth of footage featuring Kratos will need to be reshot. And given that the son of Zeus is the protagonist of this tale, it wouldn't be far-fetched to assume that most of the material already filmed has been impacted.
While Prime Video's God of War didn't have a release date set in stone yet, the recasting of Kratos means the show will be delayed by at least seven to eight months. Fans had speculated that late 2027 would be the earliest the show could see the light of day, but now it is all the more likely that the show will be released in 2028. Fortunately, there's more God of War content coming our way in the meantime.
PlayStation took the world by storm by announcing God of War Laufey during its June State of Play presentation. The upcoming title will follow Kratos' wife, Faye (Deborah Ann Woll), as she goes to the afterlife of the gods. There she'll cross paths with characters from different mythologies, which is a first for the saga. The game is set to take place at the same time as the events of 2018's God of War, just after Laufey's passing, and will also feature the performances of Jack Quaid as a cosmic cube called Phranque and Perlina Lau as the talking sword Rue.
While God of War Laufey is yet another project that doesn't have a release date set in stone, reports suggest that it could hit shelves as soon as March 2027. Furthermore, it has been confirmed that the game will have some presence at this year's San Diego Comic-Con, so we could get a better idea about a potential release window there.
As for the God of War Prime Video show, let's hope Hurst has a speedy recovery and that it won't be long before we get an update on who will take on the iconic role of Kratos next.
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