Dave Bautista Officially Set to Play Kratos in Amazon’s ‘God of War’ Series

It’s official!

Not long ago, it was reported that Dave Bautista (pictured above in Army of the Dead) was in talks to star as Kratos in Prime Video’s God of War series following the unfortunate departure of Ryan Hurst after he was seriously hurt on set. Now, Variety confirms that Bautista will take on the role.

For those who don’t recall, Hurst tore a bicep while doing a stunt on the show and has since undergone surgery and is now recovering.

God of War paused production immediately following the incident.

Based on PlayStation’s ancient mythology-themed franchise of the same name, the series hails from writer, executive producer, and showrunner Ronald D. Moore. Filming began in February in Vancouver on a two-season order, with the two seasons slated to film back-to-back.

Episodes will now be reshot with Bautista taking over the role of Kratos. With the co-lead, Atreus, played by child actor Callum Vinson, it would be hard to use much of the existing footage as kids grow up fast.

God of War follows father and son Kratos and Atreus (Vinson) as they embark on a journey to spread the ashes of their wife and mother, Faye. Through their adventures, Kratos tries to teach his son to be a better god, while Atreus tries to teach his father how to be a better human.

Frankly, Bautista makes too much sense for the role. After all, the man has a penchant for playing big angry heroes. He even kind of looks a little like Kratos, who himself looks a bit like one of Bautista’s most famous characters, Drax from the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise.

The cast also includes Mandy Patinkin as Odin, Ed Skrein as Baldur, Max Parker as Heimdall, Ólafur Darri Ólafsson as Thor, Teresa Palmer as Sif, Alastair Duncan as Mimir, Jeff Gulka as Sindri, and Danny Woodburn as Brok.