Dave Bautista has officially replaced Ryan Hurst as Kratos in Prime Video’s God of War live action series.
As reported by Variety, the former wrestler is now set to take on the character’s mantle, prevously played by Ryan Hurst, who notably portrayed Thor in the God of War games.
This news doesn’t come as a huge surprise; reports surfaced that Bautista was in talks to join the project earlier this month, with the end goal of playing Kratos.
Hurst was in the middle of filming a stunt for the series when he tore his bicep. The grueling injury was severe, and his lengthy recovery timeline would have thrown a major wrench in production, prompting the studio to recast the role rather than wait for him to heal.
It didn’t take long for them to find their new Kratos, and fans of the series are already praising this casting choice, though many are noting that the actor — who famously dropped 75 pounds in late 2024— will likely need to bulk up to his Drax the Destroyer bod again.
Hurst underwent a similar body transformation to play Kratos, reportedly stacking on 40 pounds to convincingly pull of the character’s muscular Spartan build. Fans got to see what Hurst would’ve looked like in the role in mid-August when the actor shared a recent photo of himself boasting big msucles and Kratos’ signature red tattoo.
This isn’t the only video game adaptation with a GoW acronym that Bautista is keen on being involved with; he’s famously campaigned to star in a Gears of War series for some time now, calling Marcus Fenix his “dream role.”
In 2018, Bautista claimed to be actively pursuing the project with the Gears of War rights holders, and even pitched it to Universal when they approached him for a role in the Fast and Furious movies.
Prime Video’s God of War series will reportedly resume in mid-October 2026, with prep to start this month.
This is the latest big news for the God of War franchise after Cory Barlog revealed that a new game centered on Kratos is currently in development at Santa Monica Studios. God of War Laufey, the next game in the series, is slated to release in February 2027, so there’s plenty for fans to look forward to as we await more information on its live action adpatation.
Image Credit: Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Images
Virginia (she/her) is IGN’s News Editor. With ten years of experience reporting on games and entertainment, she’s got a storied background in the fighting game community, influencer news, and viral online trends. Find her on Twitter at @TheeMissGlaze.
