A God of War Prime Video series will be the next huge video game show on a streaming service. And while it's still in the early stages, it's never too early to hope it's more Witcher than Halo.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the green-light for the video game series where the titular God of War Kratos kicks butt and (more recently) learns to be a dad just came down from Amazon. The production studios behind it are Sony Pictures Television and Amazon Studios, in association with PlayStation Productions.
The series has been in development since March, and will (at least partially) follow the story of the critically-acclaimed 2018 title God of War. While that game's title sounds like it's a reboot, it was not. It was actually the eighth game in the chronology of the series, and a sequel to 2010's God of War III.
That said, this is a new TV show, without any movies preceding it, so don't expect any lore to be required reading. This isn't Rings of Power. And if they cast God of War right, and give it a crackling script (the game provides ample material) we bet it will have the budget it needs to be great — and be one of the best Prime Video shows.
This announcement doesn't seem too surprising, video game adaptations on TV are heating up, as we'll examine below. Prime Video throwing a log into the fire is one way it can stay in the hunt for the title of best streaming service.
God of War on Prime Video plot: Official description
The official God of War on Prime Video series description reads "When his beloved wife dies, Kratos sets off on a dangerous journey with his estranged son to spread her ashes from the highest peak — his wife’s final wish. Kratos soon realizes the journey is an epic quest in disguise, one which will test the bonds between father and son, and force Kratos to battle new gods and monsters for the fate of the world."
A slight bit of context: Kratos, the God of War, enters this chapter of his life in supposed-retirement. He's trying to leave his bloody, rage-fueled actions from Greece in the rear view. Anyone who's played the game knows that this doesn't go too well.
God of War on Prime Video cast and crew news
So far, we only know who will be working on the series. The Wheel of Time (another Prime Video series) showrunner Rafe Judkins is signed onto helm this show as well. He will share writing and executive producing credits with the award-nominated duo of Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby (Children of Men, Iron Man, The Expanse).
No casting has been announced yet. Casting for Kratos and his son Atreus is likely the main priority for the show at the moment.
God of War on Prime Video release date speculation
Considering development only began in March 2022, and we have no cast news, it seems safe to think that 2023 will be a year of battening down and getting ready, with 2024 being the production and post-production year.
I wouldn't expect God of War to hit Prime Video until 2025 at the earliest.
God of War on Prime Video outlook: We're optimistic
Video game adaptations on TV have become thankfully more reliably good than their cinematic equivalents. Sure, Halo was something of a mess, and Resident Evil flopped (while being entertaining in a chaotic way), but for every video game-turned-show that doesn't land, many more rise above those ashes.
Netflix has been winning in this category for a short while — with titles such as Castlevania, The Cuphead Show!, Cyberpunk: Edgerunners and Arcane — so we're not surprised to see Amazon Prime Video enter the fray. Oh, and then there's The Witcher (yes, we know it's a book adaptation, but this show likely wouldn't exist without the well known game).
This world is only heating up, as the imminently-arriving The Last of Us HBO series looks like a winner, and Peacock's Twisted Metal series and Netflix's Horizon adaptation are in the pipeline.
