The Game Awards/SonyWho will play Kratos in Amazon’s live-action God of War TV show? Despite fans’ hopes, it doesn’t look like it’ll be Christopher Judge.
The iconic PlayStation franchise has undergone an extraordinary evolution since the start of its Norse era in 2018’s God of War, switching up its tried, tested, and beloved hack-and-slash gameplay for an over-the-shoulder story-driven experience.
The series’ revival was acclaimed, leading to its similarly lauded sequel, God of War: Ragnarok. In 2022, Amazon and Sony confirmed they were developing a live-action adaptation for Prime Video, with For All Mankind’s Ronald D. Moore (eventually) tapped as showrunner.
We know it’ll focus on Kratos and Atreus, so the question is: who will play the God of War himself?
Christopher Judge dismisses live-action God of War rumor
SonyAccording to John Campea, 10 actors are in the running to play Kratos in Amazon’s God of War series:
- Christopher Judge
- Winston Duke
- Joe Manganiello
- Manu Bennet
- Jason Momoa
- Travis Fimmel
- Oliver Ritchers
- Dave Bautista
- Henry Cavill
- Triple H
Judge, who’s 60 years old, was cast as Kratos in the 2018 game (taking over from Terrence C. Carson) and reprised the role in Ragnarok. He’s been one of the most popular fan casts for the TV show since it was announced – however, his latest social media post indicates he won’t be carrying his performance into live-action.
After a fan screenshotted a report claiming Judge was in talks to play Kratos, he shared it and wrote: “I am???” with three confused emojis and a heart.
Judge has joked about the role over the past couple of years. In December 2024, he responded to a list of fan casts that included his name and wrote, “FINALLY” with a laughing emoji.
In August 2023, he replied to a post highlighting how he may be too old for the role with laughing emojis, and earlier that year, he wrote: “Don’t get me wrong, I think @DaveBautista is great, but…”
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As per Nexus Point News, production on the series is set to begin in March 2026. “We’re in the scripts phase. We’re still working on scripts. It’s going very well,” Moore told IGN at SDCC.
“We’ve got a good team. It’s been a fascinating thing to sink my teeth into. I’ve never done an adaptation of a video game, and the deeper I got into it, the more impressed I was with the breadth and the depth of the mythology that’s involved in this video game.”
In the meantime, check out what else is dropping with our 2025 TV calendar and read our list of the best TV shows of all time.