Following the release of its critically acclaimed sequel, the God of War franchise is set to conquer television with a live-action series on Prime Video.
Prime Video announced the new series in a press release, detailing its partnership with PlayStation on the adaptation. As previously rumored, Rafe Judkins, who heads the Prime Video series The Wheel of Time, will serve as showrunner. Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby, Oscar-winning screenwriters for Iron Man and Children of Men, also join the series as writers and executive producers. Additional executive producers include God of War director and Santa Monica Studio's Studio Creative Director, Cory Barlog, Santa Monica Studio's Yumi Yang, Vertigo's Roy Lee and Playstation Productions Asad Qizilbash and Carter Swan. Santa Monica Studio's Jeff Ketcham rounds out the creative team as co-executive producer.
Prime Video's God of War Series Retells Kratos' Story
"We are so proud and excited to be working with our friends at Amazon Studios and our partners at PlayStation Productions to adapt this beautiful and heartbreaking game into a premium live-action series," said Katherine Pope, president of Sony Pictures Television Studios. "Rafe, Mark and Hawk are crafting a transportive series that charts a path through the ancient mythological journey of Kratos."
A blurb describing the series indicated that the series might touch extensively on Kratos' story in the rebooted God of War games. According to the plot description, "The series follows Kratos, the God of War, who, after exiling himself from his blood-soaked past in ancient Greece, hangs up his weapons forever in the Norse realm of Midgard. 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."
Prime Video previously confirmed a God of War television series was in active development with the streaming service. President and CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment Jim Ryan confirmed the reports during a Q&A at a Sony Business Briefing, though he did not reveal additional details at the time. Previous rumors had claimed such a series was in the works, even attaching Judkins, Fergus and Ostby to the project. Neither rumors nor Prime Video's announcement today make mention of any potential casting on the series.
Several other Sony games have live-action adaptations in the works. A Gran Turismo film starring David Harbour is currently in the works and set to hit theaters Aug. 11, 2023. Another streaming service, Netflix, has a Horizon Zero Dawn live-action series on the way, though, like God of War, it lacks a release date and casting.
Source: Prime Video