A shocking rumor that Prime Video’s God of War TV series is strongly considering casting Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson as Kratos has been dismissed by the Santa Monica Studios’ creative director Cory Balrog. The TV adaptation of the acclaimed 2018 video game has been in development since March 2022 but Sony is yet to announce a cast though the fanbase is hoping Kratos’ voice actor Christopher Judge bags the role.
HBO’s success with The Last of Us and Netflix’s with The Witcher series has lately prompted studios to show more interest in shopping for video game TV adaptations. Even on the animation front – Netflix has managed to shatter the video game adaptation cruse with Arcane season 1 so for the GOW fanbase, a TV show based on God of War seems long overdue.
While the God of War TV series is still in the early stages of development – a Twitter post claiming Dwayne Johnson was a contender to portray Kratos spread like wildfire as it claimed to be from TMZ. The baseless rumor, fortunately, reached Cory Balrog, the director of the 2018’s God of War game.
Balrog outright denied hearing anything related to The Rock being considered to play the God of War, “I have literally never heard anything about this.” The news invoked a sigh of relief from many fans who were appalled by the rumor. However, it also led to fan casting with many pitching names like Dave Bautista, and Gerard Butler but many God of War aficionados were quick to choose Christopher Judge as their only choice. Moreover, some fans also reminded the series may not have the budget to afford Dwayne Johnson.
The Directors for God Of War are strongly considering casting Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson as "Kratos" in the new adaptation of God of War premiering on Amazon Prime
( source : TMZ ) pic.twitter.com/1Gp0w88sgs
— Red ❤️🔥 (@RedLightning420) June 26, 2023
i have literally never heard anything about this.
— the fake cory balrog (@corybarlog) June 26, 2023
While Bautista could be a fine fit for the role, especially since his exit from playing MCU’s Drax for the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise, Judge has been vocal to the point of insisting, “Don’t get me wrong, I think @DaveBautista is great, but…” suggesting he should be chosen to play the God of War.
The Rock as Kratos? No thank you. For one I don’t think they could afford The Rock for a TV series, and 2. I think there are better options out there to be Kratos…..IMO.
— The Man About Tech (@Vyyyper) June 26, 2023
I’d pick Batista to play Kratos over The Rock, but that’s just me 🤷🏽♂️ https://t.co/6HQf4eDEvs pic.twitter.com/usDZTqz1e9
— Public Enemies Podcast (@TheEnemiesPE3) June 26, 2023
Gerard Butler tho. Just sayin. https://t.co/rWuGL7lNDp
— Freeze (@OfficiallyIce) June 26, 2023
Christopher Judge is the only acceptable person to play this role. https://t.co/fGKVsWZqeI
— ANDRÉ ΞLIJAH (@AndreElijah) June 26, 2023
If ever a person were to play Kratos, it’s HHH. He was born for the role. https://t.co/U9Y4x9vWkW pic.twitter.com/GqJM5oH2rJ
— Wrestlelamia.co.uk (@wrestlelamia) June 27, 2023
First day on the job Dwayne pitches making it about the Maori gods instead https://t.co/GXkcAKPGdO
— Holt (@Holtarna) June 26, 2023
Bro stop casting the Rock in stuff just cause he’s the Rock.
He don’t have the range to play Kratos I’m sorry. https://t.co/n7GhyadXTc
— D Piddy (@Blackkout__) June 26, 2023
An official description (via: THR) for the God of War series confirmed it takes place in the Norse world after “his beloved wife dies” and explores the story with his son Atreus. “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.”
God of War TV series is currently TBA but is in the works by The Expanse creators Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby, The Wheel of Time‘s showrunner Rafe Judkins. Sony Pictures is also collaborating as they do with all adaptations based on PlayStation titles.
