Following the on-set injury that forced lead actor Ryan Hurst to exit Prime Video’s God of War adaptation, Dave Bautista is reportedly in talks to take over as Kratos.
According to Deadline and Variety, the former WWE star–who successfully transitioned to an acting career in the 2010s–could be recast as the Titular God of War, as Hurst’s bicep tear injury has a long recovery period and he wouldn’t be fit to resume the role until next year at the earliest.
While Bautista has slimmed down in recent years, the Hollywood outlets have noted that he could pack on some muscle in a relatively short timeframe to help him embody the physicality of portraying Kratos. There are concerns that Bautista’s age could work against him–he’s currently 57–especially if God of War continues for multiple seasons, which would also require the actor to maintain his physique between shoots. Amazon will likely also need to ensure more precautions are in place to protect its cast.
This isn’t the first time that Bautista has been linked to a live-action GoW adaptation, but in this case, he was originally aiming to play Marcus Fenix in Gears of War. While a big-screen adaptation was planned, development hell torpedoed that production at Universal Pictures. That doesn’t mean that the project is entirely dead, as Netflix is also developing its own take on the iconic series of action games–and yes, Bautista is still eager to play Marcus Fenix in that version.
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As for Bautista, he might be the ideal actor for the role of Kratos. Following his career as a main-eventer in WWE and several smaller gigs in film and TV, his breakout role came in 2014’s Guardians of the Galaxy. As Drax, Bautista juggled a physically demanding performance with surprisingly subtle acting that revealed new layers for the character, and he has put those talents to use in several acclaimed movies since then.
Kratos isn’t the only character being recast in God of War. There are rumors that Callum Vinson, who plays Atreus, will be replaced by an older actor in the second season. Instead of waiting for Vinson to age into the role, Amazon reportedly wants to start filming soon. The new season will likely be based on God of War Ragnarok, which happens several years after the 2018 game that the first season covers.
God of War fans won’t have to wait too long for the next game in the series either, as God of War Laufey launches on February 18, 2027, for PS5 and will be followed by another Kratos-led adventure.
