So, Amazon confirmed that they are indeed adapting the God of War video game series into a live-action series. We were previously informed about this. However, the development has been a significant reason for this big rise, and the series has been able to pull in an Emmy-winning director—the same one who will finally bring a living Kratos to your TV. It is none other than Frederick E.O. Toye, who was mainly responsible for the last episodes of the critically acclaimed ‘Shōgun’ and has also worked on ‘The Boys.’ He is in the project officially. He will be collaborating with showrunner Ronald D. Moore, the genius behind the forthcoming ‘Battlestar Galactica’ reboot and ‘For All Mankind.’ The announcement also states that pre-production and casting have already begun for the first two-season order. This is a significant commitment from Amazon, which suggests that they are very serious about it.
If you are not aware, Ronald D. Moore is practically a sci-fi savior. His ‘Battlestar Galactica’ was raw, character-based, and ethically unclear—this seems to be a great setting for a tale about a ghastly Spartan ghost of rage who wants to be a good dad in a very wild-savage-Norse environment. Toye, who just had a confrontation with the epic, violent, and deeply human storytelling of ‘Shōgun,’ looks like an exceptionally insightful choice. It suggests that Amazon has high aspirations—prestige TV and not merely licenses for a video game supplier. The puzzle pieces are falling into place in a manner that is bound to be very encouraging for the gaming community.
A big surprise accompanied the announcement and it was very noisy, which is what the internet conditions usually are. The reactions to the news were a mix of hype, skepticism, and discussions about the cast. Quite a scene.
A user named GJX simply remarked that he would be ‘the most unbearable person on this topic. God Bless 🪓,’ which is more or less the same reaction from the others too. The buzz is very strong. Another user, Dexter Schwaerzler-Plumb, assured that he was certain of Moore’s vision, ‘As a total Battlestar Galactica fanatic, I have faith in the vision of Ronald D. Moore and his crew.’ He also pointed out that we might get an announcement about the cast during The Game Awards which is more or less the best place for such news.
A question that keeps coming back is: from where should the series start? Garrett Serbin’s tweet set off an entire debate: ‘It doesn’t matter. The suits will mess it up…They already messed up by picking the wrong starting point. You HAVE to start in Greece.’ This is exactly what many fans fear—that the series will skip over the bloody backstory of Kratos with the Greek gods and rather, jump straight to the ‘Dad of War’ time period with Atreus.
But there were gamers who really pushed back against that idea. Ru Mistry said, ‘Nah they don’t have to start with Greece. Greece stories didn’t have much character. They had spectacle. They can easily start with this one and handle the past the way the games did.’ This is a thought-provoking argument. The 2018 game has that characteristic, entwining the pain of Greece into the plot without needing a full prequel. It is a modern, character-driven style. Another user, dillian, took the position that the Greek saga had character depth if one developed it, and even sketched an entire arc from a loving father to the god-slayer of the deceived ones with his suggestion. This is a debate that will remain until the show is on air.
On the other hand, there is the huge elephant in the room, the casting dilemma. Who on earth could play Kratos? The comments have started to mention names. ‘Just do not fuck up the casting,’ Dani Ádám implored. inland empire had a physical suggestion: ‘Why is it that no one at least is namingAlan Ritchson? He has the size, I’m not sure if he has the deep voice for the part though.’ Ritchson (Reacher, Hawk in Titans) definitely has the right physique but, yes, that voice is a huge challenge. Mitch was more concerned about the visual side: ‘When they cast Kratos, they should immediately show the actor in make-up and costume…I still fear that seeing a known actor with a bald head, ash grey/white skin and a huge red tattoo will look funny.’ This is a legitimate concern—the look is so iconic that if not handled with absolute conviction, it can very easily veer into the cosplay territory.
Then there are those opinions that are clearly out of the box. ‘Hopefully Kratos is played by a woman 🤞🏼,’ stated Rob300, sparking a debate that will continue as the PlayStation and Xbox communities weigh in.
