Deadline has reported that actor Ryan Hurst won’t be the one carrying the Blades of Chaos when Amazon Prime Video’s live-action adaptation of God of War resumes filming. The actor has, unfortunately, had to step down from the role after he tore his bicep while performing a stunt for the show. The injury was so serious that it required surgery and will render him unfit to continue in the role for at least another year. So God of War‘s Kratos needs to be recast.
Sony Pictures Television and Amazon MGM Studios made the decision to replace the actor after they had already completed four episodes – which will now need to be reshot with a new actor. Production has been on hold since the incident, with prep now expected to start in mid-August and filming resuming in mid-October.
Hurst reportedly put on 40 lbs of muscle to transform into the Greek god killer and had been filming the very physically demanding part in Vancouver since February already (as we saw from the first official image released online earlier this year). With two seasons contracted to shoot back-to-back, the studios needed to recast the role in order to make up for the lost time.
That’s the official version. However, a large section of the fandom isn’t fully buying it.
See, Hurst’s casting as Kratos back in January received a very lukewarm reaction from fans. While there were many who loved the casting, there were an equal amount who didn’t think he was the right choice. Then the first-look image arrived and the internet turned to mocking the show before we had even seen any footage.
Fans had been fan-casting alternatives like Alan Ritchson and even the game’s voice actor, Christopher Judge, well before Hurst was ever confirmed, and that only continued once that first look image arrived.
So when the recast news broke, some fans skipped straight past “stunt injury” and begin to suspect that the studio probably jumped at the opportunity to recast him. One comment on Facebook called out the decision: “The truth is that he was replaced due to the negative reaction to his appearance in the official photo,” arguing the injury is just cover to bring in “another actor who appeals more to the public and will generate a better reaction next time.”
It’s a theory that’s easy to understand emotionally, even if the reporting doesn’t support it. But could the studio be backing out and using this as an excuse to go in an entirely new direction? To be fair, it’s an incredibly expensive and disruptive way to quietly solve a PR problem if that’s all this was.
Whoever takes over as Kratos will star opposite Callum Vinson’s Atreus, with the existing supporting cast still in place for now. That includes Deborah Ann Woll as Faye, Mandy Patinkin as Odin, and Ólafur Darri Ólafsson as Thor. Ronald D. Moore also continues as showrunner.
But don’t be too surprised if more God of War recasts are on the way.
