Dave Bautista is officially becoming Kratos.
The former WWE star and Guardians of the Galaxy actor has been cast as the new lead of Prime Video’s live action God of War series. Bautista will take over the role from Ryan Hurst, who was originally announced as Kratos earlier in 2026.
The change comes after Hurst suffered a torn bicep while filming a stunt. The injury required surgery and would have kept him away from production long enough to push filming into 2027. Rather than delaying the series for several months, Amazon MGM Studios and Sony Pictures Television decided to recast Kratos.
Bautista had already been linked to the role earlier in August, but his casting is now official. He brings plenty of experience playing physically imposing characters, including Drax in Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy films and Glossu Rabban in the Dune movies.
His version of Kratos will be based on the older incarnation of the character seen in the more recent God of War games. The story follows Kratos and his young son Atreus as they travel to scatter the ashes of Faye, Kratos’ wife and Atreus’ mother. Their journey puts them into conflict with gods and creatures from Norse mythology while much of the story focuses on the difficult relationship between father and son.
Callum Vinson is playing Atreus. The cast also includes Mandy Patinkin as Odin, Ed Skrein as Baldur, Ólafur Darri Ólafsson as Thor, Teresa Palmer as Sif, Max Parker as Heimdall and Alastair Duncan as Mimir. Sonya Walger is also part of the cast as Freya.
The casting change will require some extra work behind the scenes. Filming originally started in Vancouver in February, and several episodes had already been partially shot with Hurst as Kratos. Those scenes will now need to be filmed again with Bautista in the role. Production is expected to resume in the coming weeks.
Prime Video has already ordered two seasons of God of War, with plans to shoot them back to back. Ronald D. Moore is leading the series as showrunner, while Frederick E.O. Toye is directing the first two episodes. Toye previously worked on shows including Shōgun, Fallout and The Boys.
There is still no release date for God of War. With Bautista now confirmed as Kratos, however, production can move forward with its new lead and begin replacing the material that had already been filmed with Hurst.
