Dave Bautista is bulking up for Kratos, and he’s keen to show it. In a video on his Instagram story, he captioned the clip “Gained 20 lbs for GOW” and added a “250” sticker, which Variety reads as his current weight, so about 113kg, up by roughly 9kg. According to Variety, the Guardians of the Galaxy actor wore a God of War T-shirt for the post.
It’s the second public check-in on the transformation. When Bautista last shared a glimpse, around two months ago, he said he’d restarted weight training but had time “to get to where I need to be”, as we covered when he began training for Kratos. This time, DiscussingFilm relayed the clip on X on 1 November, describing it as 20 more pounds of muscle and a weight of 250 pounds.
The bulk-up has a deadline, because the production is partly starting over. Variety reports that Bautista signed on in August to replace Ryan Hurst, who was originally cast and tore a bicep on set. The injury needed surgery that would have pushed production into 2027, so Prime Video replaced him rather than wait. Filming began in Vancouver in February, and Variety says every scene shot with Hurst will now be reshot with Bautista. We covered the recast and the 2027 delay when it broke, and the official casting soon after.
Prime Video ordered two seasons, set to shoot back-to-back, so the physical commitment covers a long shoot. On Amazon’s own series page, the company says production is underway and that no premiere date has been announced. According to Variety, Bautista also has Road House 2 and the Highlander reboot coming up.
The casting has had a notable reaction from inside the franchise. Christopher Judge, who voices Kratos in the games, has explained why he turned down the live-action role.
When does the God of War series come out on Prime Video?
Nobody has announced a date. Amazon’s series page says only that production is underway, and the reshoots with Bautista mean the schedule has already moved once.
Which games does the series adapt?
According to Variety, it follows the two most recent God of War games, which centre on Kratos raising his ten-year-old son Atreus while facing the Norse gods. The logline has the pair travelling to scatter the ashes of Faye, Kratos’ wife and Atreus’ mother.
Who else is in the cast?
Amazon lists Callum Vinson as Atreus, Mandy Patinkin as Odin, Ólafur Darri Ólafsson as Thor, Max Parker as Heimdall, Teresa Palmer as Sif, and Ed Skrein as Baldur. Ronald D. Moore is showrunner, executive producer, and writer.
