Three years after wrapping up his tenure as Drax the Destroyer in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Dave Bautista has found a new signature character to play. He’s been cast as Kratos in Prime Video’s upcoming God of War adaptation, replacing Ryan Hurst (who left the project after suffering an injury). Fans will have to wait a bit to see Bautista’s Kratos in action, as episodes Hurst already filmed need to be reshot, but it’s safe to say people are excited about seeing Bautista in the role. Long before the God of War TV show started taking meaningful steps forward, Bautista was a popular fancast pick, and even Marvel got in on the fun.
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After Bautista joined God of War, an amusing clip from The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special is circulating online. The scene in question features Drax and Mantis posing for selfies with a human family during their visit to Earth. After snapping the pictures, you can hear the mother say, “We got a picture with the God of War!” Check out the clip in the space below:
Dave Bautista Should Be a Perfect Kratos on God of War
As thrilled as people are about the prospect of Bautista playing Kratos, it’s important to keep in mind that this happened only because of a truly unfortunate situation involving Ryan Hurst. Hurst, who has ties to the God of War franchise (portraying Thor in God of War Ragnarok), was clearly passionate about the material and thankful for the opportunity to play such an iconic character. It’s upsetting he lost the job due to something out of his control, and there are probably some fans who would have preferred Prime Video wait for Hurst to recover from his injury and then resume filming. However, the streamer obviously went in a different direction, and Bautista is as perfect of a replacement as people could have hoped for.
It goes without saying that Bautista possesses the physical presence to play Drax. The God of War joke in The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special works as well as it does because there is a resemblance between Drax and Kratos. Just by looking at Drax, you can tell Bautista would be a great fit for Kratos. But Bautista’s qualifications for the role go well beyond his appearance. Over the years, he’s demonstrated tremendous acting range, flexing his dramatic chops in projects like Blade Runner 2049 and A Knock at the Cabin. His comedic take on Drax rose his profile, but Bautista is far from a one-note performer.
That’s ideal for Kratos because the character has a considerable amount of depth. Prime Video’s series is drawing from the Norse-era games, which differed from the original Greek trilogy with a far more nuanced, well-rounded portrayal of Kratos. In the Norse games, Kratos isn’t just a killing machine fueled by rage; there are plenty of combat encounters where Kratos lets loose and tears enemies apart, but the real heart of those games are in the storytelling and character dynamics. The relationship between Kratos and his son Atreus is the lynchpin of God of War 2018, and it’s there where Bautista will need to lean on more than just his action experience. Bautista has proven he’s more than capable of handling quieter, character-driven moments with grace and skill.
The God of War TV show has been subject to scrutiny and backlash since cameras first started rolling. Even Kratos game actor Christopher Judge weighed in, wondering why Prime Video isn’t utilizing the talented writers and developers who made God of War one of the premier staples of PlayStation’s first-party lineup. It’ll be interesting to see if the conversation shifts in a more positive direction once we get our first look at Bautista. God of War has a lot of potential to essentially be Prime Video’s answer to Game of Thrones, so hopefully it can deliver on its promise.
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