Ryan Hurst Revealed His Preparation for Kratos Role in the God of War TV Show

This January, it was announced Ryan Hurst, known for Sons of Anarchy and The Walking Dead, had been cast as Kratos in Amazon Prime Video's God of War adaptation. The actor recently suffered a serious injury during filming and confirmed to be recast. Fans weren't initially impressed with the character's design, but Hurst recently shared how he'd been preparing for the role before the injury happened.

On his Instagram, Hurst posted an image of what he'd look like as Kratos in the God of War TV show, and the updated design looked far better than what was first revealed. The post was later deleted, but fans managed to save the image—and the resemblance to the franchise's lead character is genuinely noticeable, leaving many fans sad that Hurst had to step away from the role due to injury. You can check out a closer look at Hurst's take on Kratos, along with a comparison to the character from God of War (2018), below:

Ryan Hurst shared a new picture of himself as Kratos.

He’s no longer playing Kratos in Amazon Prime Video’s ‘God of War’ series after being recast following his on-set injury.

It was also recently reported that Dave Bautista is the frontrunner to take over as Kratos in the adaptation, and given that Bautista was already named as one of the leading contenders even before Hurst was cast, it's a pretty solid pick.

That said, Ryan Hurst won’t be the only one to recast; Amazon will be replacing the actors playing Atreus (Callum Vinson) and Thrud (Island Austin) in the second God of War season, as the show adapts the events of the game's sequel - God of War: Ragnarok—in which both characters will be depicted at a more mature age. It is not yet known who will play the characters in the second season. The cast also includes Ed Skrein (Baldur), Olafur Darri Olafsson (Thor), Mandy Patinkin (Odin), Alastair Duncan (Mimir), Danny Woodburn (Brok), Jeff Gulka (Sindri), Teresa Parkers (Sif), Max Parker (Heimdall), and others.

Speaking of the God of War games, Santa Monica Studio confirmed at San Diego Comic-Con that God of War Laufey will release on February 16, 2027, exclusively for PlayStation 5, with Kratos returning as the main protagonist in another, brand-new project. There's also a God of War Trilogy Remake in development, with T.C. Carson returning as Kratos. That game was announced this February at State of Play, but it's believed to still be in the early stages, with no release date yet.