Following the exit of Ryan Hurst due to an unfortunate biceps tear, Amazon MGM has found a new series lead. Dave Bautista, Marvel’s fan-favorite berserker, will ditch the daggers for an axe as he steps into the role of Kratos for Sony and Amazon’s God of War. We understand that this is terrible news for Hurst. Nobody wanted to see this happen. There will always be “what ifs” at play now as well. What if he never tore the bicep? What if the production wasn’t so breakneck? How would his performance have been? We’ll never get those answers, but we remain extremely excited for the series. We’re also really excited to see Bautista take on the role.
Production started last February in Vancouver, Canada. Before Hurst’s injury in late June, showrunner Ronald D. Moore (Battlestar Galactica, Outlander) and his team had already filmed four full episodes. The injury put production between a rock and a hard place. Hurst was fully committed to the role, having packed on over 40 pounds of muscle, and he served as a grounded tie to the video game franchise after previously voicing and motion-capturing Thor in God of War Ragnarök.
Because the injury leaves Hurst off the set until early 2027, the timeline clashes heavily with the production schedule. Filming in Vancouver encompasses a two-season shoot. Leaving the set dark would bleed the series’ budget and run the risk of aging out actor Callum Vinson, who plays Kratos’s son, Atreus.
Synergy & Moving Forward
The game series being adapted explores the tightening bond between a father and son through shared loss. The death of Kratos’s wife, Faye, drives the duo on a journey to lay her ashes to rest. Along the way, Kratos, a rage-filled former God of War, learns to embrace his humanity and fatherhood. Meanwhile, a ten-year-old Atreus learns the realities and pitfalls of his demigod lineage. Crucially, the events of the first game, which season one covers, occur over a handful of days.
In a bid to preserve this tight continuity and combat a bleeding budget, Amazon MGM personally opened talks with Dave Bautista earlier this month. The Marvel veteran is no slouch in the action department and is a natural shoo-in for the character. A prior career in the WWE has seen the six-foot-four titan cultivate a physique worthy of the role. That’s one of the parts of this casting change that we’re all in on. If we picture Kratos, we can easily picture Bautista as that character. Maybe it helps that he spent so much time as Drax in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The make-up for Drax’s body color isn’t too far removed from Kratos’ ashen appearance.
Bautista Is More Than Just A Wrestler
It’s really no surprise Bautista was on the minds of Amazon executives during the casting kerfuffle. Over the last few years, he’s starred in the company’s My Spy franchise and recently worked alongside Jason Momoa in this year’s release of The Wrecking Crew. With upcoming roles in Amazon’s Henry Cavill-led Highlander reboot and Road House 2, the framework was already in place for Drax the Destroyer to ditch the daggers and attain the axe of godhood. We wish it hadn’t happened this way, of course. It’s a cruel fate for one person, but an opportunity for another.
Dave Bautista should not be underrated as an actor. The idea of wrestlers turned thespians is not a new one. Hulk Hogan tried his hand at a film career. The less said about Mr. Nanny, Suburban Commando, and Santa With Muscles, the better off we all are. And it’s probably the case that that kind of schlock led to the idea that wrestlers can’t act. Dwayne Johnson helped change some of that perspective, but he got himself pigeonholed into ridiculous action roles. Then those parts started getting more and more generic. Then Black Adam happened, where he tried to effectively take over the DCEU. It failed.
Bautista’s Diverse Performances
While Dwayne was doing that, Dave was building up something greater for himself. Yes, he was playing Drax, but he also took a role in Glass Onion: A Knives Out Movie. He also appeared in Dune as Glossu Rabban. Even more impressively, he was arguably the best part of M. Night Shyamalan‘s Knock at the Cabin. He’s been doing work that shows he doesn’t need to be the center of attention. Bautista knows that he can be part of an ensemble and doesn’t have to outshine those around him. That’s the kind of acting that’s going to let his turn as Kratos amplify the performance of Vinson as his son.
Atreus is not just an annoying kid sidekick in God of War. He’s a useful fighter and a reflecting pool for Kratos as a man and a father. The Spartan warrior is emotionally closed off outside of his rage. He very much loves his son, but he expresses it through less direct forms of communication. He talks to his boy about life lessons, his own experiences, and what they must do to survive. Bautista has the acting range to pull this off. You can make the stoic comparisons between Kratos and Drax. Those are very fitting. Circling back to Knock at the Cabin, though; that’s the kind of performance that shows why we’re hyped for Bautista as Kratos.
Netflix
Understanding Kratos
Bautista has the ability to be quiet and menacing. His presence is intimidating even when he doesn’t mean it to be. That’s Kratos right there. Kratos is someone who radiates a “stay away from me” energy even though he can be quite measured in his temperament when he wants to be. Dave Bautista can pull that off naturally. He doesn’t have to ham anything up; he can effortlessly go to an extreme and come back down from it but maintain that overwhelming energy.
We have much to look forward to with God of War. There is strong potential here, and we don’t think Bautista will let us down in any way. The man has a workman’s ethic that powers him through his performances like a Blade of Chaos through an unarmored Valkyrie. Stay tuned to Nerdbot for all things God of War as we sail dauntlessly to Valhalla.
