Ryan Hurst has been casted as Kratos in Amazon Prime Video’s upcoming live-action adaptation of God of War, taking on the lead role in the highly anticipated series based on the popular video game franchise.
The casting marks a return to the God of War universe for Hurst, who previously voiced the Norse god Thor in the video game God of War: Ragnarök. This time, however, he will portray Kratos, the titular God of War and central figure of both the series and the wider franchise.
According to the official character description, Kratos is “Spartan by birth, and a god by nature”. Raised within a rigid martial culture, he rose through the ranks to command armies in service of his homeland before making a fateful bargain with Ares, the Greek God of War, sacrificing his soul in exchange for victory in battle.
As previously reported, the series will follow the storyline of the two most recent God of War games, focusing on Kratos’ relationship with his ten-year-old son, Atreus. The logline states that father and son embark on a journey to scatter the ashes of Kratos’ wife and Atreus’ mother, Faye. Along the way, Kratos attempts to teach his son how to be a better god, while Atreus challenges his father to learn how to be a better human.
Hurst is best known on television for his role as Opie Winston in FX’s biker drama Sons of Anarchy, as well as for playing the villain Beta in AMC’s The Walking Dead. His other television credits include The Abandons, Outsiders and Bates Motel. In film, he has appeared in Remember the Titans, Saving Private Ryan and We Were Soldiers, and is set to feature in Christopher Nolan’s forthcoming adaptation of The Odyssey. He is represented by UTA and Piper Kaniecki Marks Management.
Amazon’s God of War adaptation has been in development for several years, having originally been greenlit in 2022. The project underwent a major creative change in October 2024 when original showrunner Rafe Judkins departed the series. Ronald D. Moore subsequently joined as writer, executive producer and showrunner under his Tall Ship Productions banner.
Frederick E.O. Toye will direct the first two episodes, while Maril Davis executive produces alongside Cory Barlog, Naren Shankar, Matthew Graham, Asad Qizilbash, Jeff Ketcham, Hermen Hulst, Roy Lee and Brad Van Arragon. Joe Menosky, Marc Bernardin, Tania Lotia and Ben McGinnis serve as co-executive producers. The series is co-produced by Sony Pictures Television and Amazon MGM Studios, in association with PlayStation Productions and Tall Ship Productions, which operates under an overall deal with Sony TV.

