Amazon’s God of War TV series is getting a complete overhaul with a brand new showrunner at the helm. The God of War series is one of PlayStation’s most prized IP, having been one of the signature franchises during the PlayStation 2 and 3 generations before exploding even further toward the end of the PlayStation 4’s lifecycle. The series used to be far more focused on frenetic action and stories filled with blood lust, but matured in 2018 with a more cinematic soft-reboot that aimed to tell a more thoughtful, emotionally-charged story. It led to the series seeing critical acclaim and record-breaking sales, garnering over 23 million copies sold as of November 2022.
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Naturally, it made sense for PlayStation to look at God of War as a series it should adapt outside of gaming. It was confirmed in 2022 that a TV series based on the acclaimed gaming franchise would move forward at Amazon and it would be led by The Wheel of Time showrunner Rafe Judkins. Unfortunately, it was reported earlier this week that the God of War TV show had lost Judkins along with its producers and would be starting over from scratch. It’s not entirely clear why this change was made, but it does seem clear that Sony and/or Amazon wants to go in a totally different direction with new creatives. As such, Deadline has reported that Battlestar Galactica showrunner and Star Trek: The Next Generation producer Ronald D. Moore will be taking over as the showrunner on God of War’s TV adaptation.
As of right now, it’s unclear what Moore’s take will be and how it will differ from the work Judkins is doing. Deadline previously reported that multiple scripts for the God of War series had been completed over the course of the last 2 and a half years, so this is a massive reset. The series is still being executive produced by God of War (2018) director Cory Barlog, a creative that was an instrumental part in the tonal and stylistic changes for the soft-reboot the video games underwent.
Ultimately, this may all turn out to be a good choice. Fans will never probably know what could’ve been with a Rafe Judkins-led God of War TV show, but it seems unlikely that Sony and Amazon would pull the cord on something this deep into development and order a total reboot if it wasn’t for good reason. PlayStation Productions has had a number of hits already with Twisted Metal, Gran Turismo, and of course, The Last of Us. Not only would it be bad for this streak to get messed up in general, but it would be absolutely dismal for it to happen with a flagship franchise like God of War.
It’s currently unknown whether the God of War TV series will be starting at the beginning of Kratos’ story which is rooted in Greek mythology or if it will begin with him already engrained in Norse mythology, which is where the more recent games take place and is likely what current fans are most familiar with. It had been previously speculated that the series could utilize flashbacks to fill in the important bits of Kratos’ past, but it’s unclear. While newcomers can enjoy God of War (2018) without playing the original trilogy, those who know Kratos’ whole story get a lot more out of the experience. That may be even more important for a TV series made for people who don’t know the games exist.
It will likely be a few years before the God of War TV series begins to take shape, but it’s possible Moore will borrow pieces from the previous version of the show to utilize as a foundation for this one. The show still hasn’t cast its Kratos, but actor Dave Bautista has expressed interest in playing the gaming icon.
