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Well. Here it is. The first official look at Amazon Prime's God Of War series has landed, featuring Ryan Hurst as Kratos and young Callum Vinson as Atreus - and if your immediate reaction was "is this a fan film?", you are not alone.
The image shows Kratos and Atreus crouching in a forest, Atreus drawing his bow, Kratos looking intense. On paper, that sounds fine. In practice, it looks less like a prestige Amazon production and more like a very committed Halloween cosplay photographed in someone's back garden. The lighting is flat, the make-up looks unfinished, and the overall atmosphere is closer to a YouTube parody than the brooding, cinematic world of the games.
Fans were quick to react online, with comments ranging from "Am I the only one who thinks this looks kinda cheap? Or like a cosplay?" to the more blunt "that Kratos looks so ridiculous - this looks like a TV commercial."
I have to say that I have a real admiration for Hurst as an actor - he's genuinely talented - his work in Sons of Anarchy and The Walking Dead is superb, and he voiced Thor in God of War: Ragnarök to great effect. But Kratos is, famously, built like a small mountain range, and Hurst's current physique in this image suggests he may still have a bit of a journey ahead before cameras roll properly. (Just joking, Ryan. We know you'll bring the goods - just maybe lay off the biscuits for a few months.)
The most charitable reading here is that this image was taken early in production - perhaps during pre-production or an initial costume test - and represents nowhere near the finished look of the show. Filming is reportedly only just beginning in Vancouver, with production running through to April 2027. If that's the case, Sony and Amazon would have been far better served waiting until the production was further along, the lighting was sorted, and the make-up team had a few more weeks under their belt. First impressions count, and this one has done the series no favours.
What we know about the show
Despite the rocky first image, the God of War series has a genuinely solid foundation. Here's the full picture:
The show has already received a two-season order from Amazon MGM Studios and Sony Pictures Television, with Battlestar Galactica's Ronald D. Moore serving as showrunner. It follows the story of the 2018 game and its sequel Ragnarök - Kratos and Atreus embarking on a journey to scatter the ashes of Faye, their wife and mother, all while navigating the brutal world of Norse gods.
The confirmed cast so far is as follows: Ryan Hurst as Kratos, Callum Vinson as Atreus, Mandy Patinkin as Odin, Ólafur Darri Ólafsson as Thor, Ed Skrein as Baldur, Max Parker as Heimdall, Teresa Palmer as Sif, and Alastair Duncan reprising his role as Mimir - the only cast member carrying over directly from the games.
No release date has been announced. Given production runs until April 2027, a 2027 premiere on Prime Video seems the most likely window.
