God of War Live-Action Casting Leak Has Gamers Seriously Torn

While hype builds for a live-action God of War series, not everyone is convinced about casting, with many gamers torn over who should play Kratos.

Without question, Santa Monica Studios’ God of War franchise is not only one of the most popular and iconic brands on PlayStation, but also in the video game industry as a whole.

We were first introduced to Kratos with God of War in 2005 on the PlayStation 2. When it launched, it instantly became one of the best action hack-and-slash games alongside the likes of Capcom’s Devil May Cry series.

In 2018, the Santa Monica Studio series evolved, not only in terms of gameplay and visuals, but with a more mature Kratos in God of War, trying to live a quiet life with his son, Atreus, in Scandinavia. Suffice it to say, Kratos’ attempts did not go according to plan.

Then, in 2022, we were treated to the epic and emotional sequel that is God of War Ragnarök, and now, fans are eagerly waiting for the completion of this Norse trilogy.

However, before that yet-to-be-announced game is announced, it looks like we’ll be getting the live-action series from Amazon, which was officially confirmed in 2022 with Ronald D. Moore as a writer and showrunner.

We’ve not heard much else on the God of War series since that time, at least officially. But recent reports claim a team of writers are being recruited with the intention of filming beginning in March 2026.

Naturally, this news has got fans speculating over who they believe should be cast as the first-ever, live-action Kratos and as you can imagine, not everyone agrees.

“Actors who are in the running for God of War's Kratos, according to Film/TV insider John Campea,” was posted by Redditor LiamNialson12.

The names mentioned are:

• Christopher Judge (most recent video game Kratos)
• Dave Bautista (Guardians of the Galaxy)
• Jason Momoa (Aquaman)
• Joe Manganiello (True Blood)
• Manu Bennet (Arrow)
• Oliver Richters (Street Fighter 2026)
• Travis Fimmel (Vikings),
• Winston Duke (Black Panther)

“I love Christopher Judge, but I definitely don’t see him actioning it up like that,” claimed Bobjoejj. “His Teal’c (Stargate SG-1) days are far behind.”

“Judge obviously was great in the new games, but his body can't really handle it in live-action, can it? He's had a ton of surgery,” added Of_Silent_Earth. “I'd personally wanna see Winston Duke or The Manimal Baptista.”

“Manu Bennett is a good shout, he was great in Spartacus and as Deathstroke in Arrow,” said Treeeelo.

“Tom Holland,” joked Lvolf.

“It’s probably going to Joe Manganiello. He has the body for it, he is around the same height as Kratos (6’5ft), and his face is close enough,” replied XTheProtagonistX.

“Batista and Momoa feel way too busy for this show. I had to remind myself who Manu Bennett was,” explained KOTRShadow. I kinda like Travis Fimmel for it because he was damn good in Vikings.”

“Cast an unknown,” suggested Moist-Citron-4830.

Of course, all this speculation should be taken with a pinch of salt until proven otherwise. But once we learn more, we’ll be sure to update you ASAP.