The Amazon Prime Video God of War show has been officially announced, and the show is set to skip the first three games in the series and instead focus on the adventures of Kratos and Atreus. With the first seven games in the God of War series primarily focused on Kratos and his vengeance against the Greek gods, later games in the series preferred a different bend. Having raised a son in a Norse-inspired setting, Kratos' next assault on the gods would leave him lashing out against the Norse gods.
The new setting and its new cast of villains provided a marked change for the franchise that brought it great success, so it's no surprise that Amazon would be interested in replicating that change. The Norse saga in God of War is better than the Greek, as it offered real development for Kratos in a wholly tangible way, as he could easily be contrasted with his son. In a statement provided by Variety, the head of global television at Amazon Studios had this to say:
“’God of War’ is a compelling, character-driven franchise that we believe will captivate our global customers as much with its expansive and immersive worlds as its rich storytelling. We are honored to share in the adventure of exploring the God of War mythology in such a momentous way with Sony Pictures Television, PlayStation Productions, and Santa Monica Studio.”
Everything We Know About The God Of War Show
Already, information is pouring in about what Amazon's God of War will look like. Amazon has already announced that it will be headed by the showrunner of Wheel of Time, Rafe Judkins. He will be ed by producers and writers Markus Fergus and Hawk Ostby, who are acclaimed creators for their work on Iron Man and Children of Men. In addition, Amazon will be working together with PlayStation and Santa Monica Studios to produce the project, as several video game industry creators like Santa Monica's studio creative director Cory Barlog will be serving key roles in the production as executive producers.
The show is set to feature the direct aftermath of the death of Atreus' mother and Kratos' wife, Faye, but, given that it will need to present some backstory to Kratos that must allude to previous games, it is unlikely that God of War settles for only Norse mythology. Still, it is likely that the show will follow the story of the games closely, especially given that one of Amazon's other video game shows, The Last of Us, seems to be sticking closely to the source material. There will likely be flashbacks or allusions to the devastation that Kratos laid upon the Greek gods in order to provide some background to the character.
The casting for God of War has not yet been announced, as the show is still in the early stages of production. Casting Kratos for the God of War show likely won't be too difficult, as there is already an abundance of popular muscular actors like Dave Bautista and Jason Momoa for the show to tap. Atreus, on the other hand, could be difficult, due to child actor limitations on set. Still, Amazon managed to find a solid actor in Bella Ramsey to play Ellie in The Last of Us, so there is no need to doubt the studio. Casting information will likely come quickly now that the show has been officially confirmed, so it's always worth it to keep an eye out to see how God of War will develop from here.
Source: Variety