GOD OF WAR Creator Rips on Kratos First Look Photo - "It's So Bad in So Many Ways"
Prime Video’s live-action God of War series is one of the biggest video game adaptations in development right now. Instead of diving into Kratos’ blood-soaked Greek saga, the show is jumping straight into the Norse era that redefined the franchise in 2018.
While anticipation is high, the first official look at Kratos has sparked a heated reaction, including some sharp criticism from the game’s original creator.
When Prime Video unveiled an image of Ryan Hurst as Kratos, the internet lit up. Some fans were excited. Others were confused. A few even wondered if AI had a hand in it. Hurst himself posted a cryptic message that only added fuel to the speculation. It wasn’t exactly the smooth reveal the studio probably hoped for.
Now David Jaffe, the creator of the God of War video game franchise, has weighed in on his YouTube channel, and he didn’t sugarcoat it. Still, he made it clear he believes in the team making the show. Jaffe said:
“I’m sure everybody’s trying real hard, [but] it’s so dumb. But let’s be incredibly clear, okay? Two things can be true. This can be a terrible image, and it is.
“It’s so bad in so many ways, which we’ll talk about in a moment. And Ron Moore is awesome, who is the showrunner… This guy is a juggernaut of a talented fellow. I have absolutely no doubt it is going to be a good show.”
He went on to say that it’s a “dumb f*cking Image.” He says “The most offensive thing about the image… in this pose with this expression, who just looks stupid… couldn’t they find a picture that doesn’t look like he’s shitting in the woods!?”
Like many other fans, thinks the image is rough. But he also has confidence in showrunner Ronald Moore, whose track record in television speaks for itself. According to Jaffe, a bad promotional image doesn’t mean the series itself is doomed, but he clearly isn’t inpressed with this first image.
You can watch him unleash his rant on the image in the video belore.
The Norse gods are coming in force as well. We already knew Thor would be played by Ólafur Darri Ólafsson, Sif by Teresa Palmer, and Odin by Mandy Patinkin. Now four more characters from Asgard are joining the fray.
Louis Cunningham will play Modi, the obsessively curious middle child of Thor and Sif, as a series regular. Magni, the couple’s eldest son, will appear in a recurring role played by Ben Chapple.
Island Austin has landed the role of Thrud, Thor and Sif’s youngest daughter, also as a series regular. Rounding out the latest wave of casting is Evelyn Miller as Gna, Odin’s fiercely loyal Valkyrie commander.
The original game kept things tight and personal. The story followed Kratos and Atreus almost exclusively. Modi and Magni crossed paths with the duo, but most of the Norse pantheon stayed in the shadows.
Thor only appeared briefly in a post-credits stinger. Sif, Thrud, and Odin didn’t show up on screen until God of War Ragnarök in 2022. Gna didn’t even step into her role as a major threat until the brutal post-game content of that sequel.
The show is clearly taking a different path.
By introducing Thor’s entire family and Odin’s inner circle in season one, Prime Video is expanding the scope well beyond the game’s limited perspective. Instead of distant gods looming off-screen, we’re likely going to see the political maneuvering inside Asgard while Kratos and Atreus are on their journey.
That opens the door to deeper family drama within the Aesir, more time with characters who were originally teased, and a parallel storyline unfolding in real time. The earlier casting of Heimdall, played by Max Parker, already hinted at this direction.
Rather than saving these heavy hitters for later seasons, the series looks ready to build its Norse myth arc from the ground up. That could give fans a richer look at the divine power structure long before Kratos inevitably crashes through it.
Production on God of War is currently underway, and there’s still no official release date.