Do you hear that? It’s the sound of me completely sobbing over the fact that another one of my favorite video games is going to be getting a TV adaptation.
When it was announced in 2020 that The Last of Us was going to be getting a television adaptation (which is coming out in January 2023), I did an article talking about some games that were deserving of their own television adaptation. Now, part of that dream has come true, since a God of War television show is in development at Prime Video and boy am I excited.
But what is this show going to entail? For some of the questions that you probably have about the upcoming God of War television series, here are six quick things we know about it.
It Will Air On Amazon Prime Video
Confirmed by Deadline all the way back in March 2022, God of War was being eyed by Amazon Prime for a full scripted series. And more recently, in December 2022, it was confirmed in another Deadline article that Amazon Prime has greenlit a series, so it looks like the platform is ready to move forward with it.
The head of global television at Amazon Studios, Vernon Sanders, spoke about their excitement in the Deadline article to bring the series to their platform, saying they were sure the story of the game would captivate Prime viewers everywhere.
God of War is a compelling, character-driven franchise that we believe will captivate our global customers as much with its expansive and immersive worlds as its rich storytelling. We are honored to share in the adventure of exploring the God of War mythology in such a momentous way with Sony Pictures Television, PlayStation Productions, and Santa Monica Studio.
Amazon has really been making a name for itself in terms of adaptations lately with popular series like The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power to The Wheel of Time, and possibly even a Warhammer adaptation at some point in the future. (In December 2022, Deadline reported that Amazon Studios had acquired the rights to the Warhammer 40,000 game, with Henry Cavill signed on to star.)
The God Of War Television Series Will Follow The Events Of The 2018 Game
Confirmed in the December 2022 Deadline article above, the synopsis for the upcoming series was already released, confirming what most fans had been thinking – that it would follow the very popular and critically acclaimed 2018 PlayStation game, God of War, rather than starting off with the other games.
The synopsis follows the same premise as the first game, following Kratos, who has hidden himself away from Greece after his “blood-soaked past” and resides in the Norse realm of Midgard. When his wife dies, her dying wish was to spread her ashes at the highest point in the realm, and it’s all about the adventure he has with his son, Atreus, whom he is still learning to be a father to.
The original game won several awards for this storyline, including multiple Game of the Year awards, and was hands down one of the most successful games that was released on the PlayStation 4, so it’s not surprising that the series is going to start there. However, I wouldn’t be surprised if the show had flashbacks to Kratos’ story in Greece to inform viewers about what he went through for those who aren’t familiar with the franchise. But, since we don’t know what they’re going to do with that, that’s just speculation from me for now.
What does seem clear is that this show is sounds like it aims to follow the familiar pattern of “grumpy father-figure would do anything to protect their young one” like The Last of Us TV show is doing, so I’m ready.
The Series Will Be Written By Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby
Something else the Deadline article confirmed above is that the series is going to be written by Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby, two film writers who have worked on some great movies in the past. So I believe that the show will be in good hands.
Their writing credits include 2008’s Iron Man, which started off the whole Marvel Cinematic Universe, Children of Men, First Snow, and Cowboys & Aliens. They also co-created and worked on Syfy/Amazon original series, The Expanse. So I have faith that these two will do good with this show.
The Wheel Of Time Showrunner, Rafe Judkins, Will Serve As Showrunner
If you’re wondering who is going to be showrunning God of War, that has also been confirmed by the Deadline article above. Rafe Judkins, who also works as the showrunner for the series The Wheel of Time, is going to also be the showrunner for God of War.
Judkins has done a lot of other great work too, working on shows such as Chuck, The 440, Hemlock Grove, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and more. He also was a writer for the 2022 movie, Uncharted, which was a big success, so it’s clear he knows what he’s doing with video games.
Producers From PlayStation Productions And Santa Monica Studio Will Also Be Working On The Show
Also confirmed from the Deadline article is that both studios who worked on God of War – PlayStation Productions and Santa Monica Studio – will have people from both production companies working on the show.
Specifically, it’ll be Cory Barlog, Yumi Yang and Jeff Ketcham from Santa Monica Studios and Asad Qizilbash and Carter Swan from PlayStation Productions, all of which are going to work in a producing role of some kind.
This is huge news, as Santa Monica Studios was actually the developer to reboot the franchise in 2018, which is why it ended up becoming so popular, and now it’s awesome to hear that they’ll also be working on the television series, just as The Last of Us did with Naughty Dog.
God Of War Is One Of Numerous Upcoming Adaptations Of A Playstation Game
This is just a fun fact, but did you know that God of War is one of a handful of PlayStation specific adaptations that is being worked on right now?
As noted by the Hollywood Reporter, The Last of Us TV series that is coming out, there are also two other shows that are in development from PlayStation games, including Twisted Metal (based on the games of the same name) starring Anthony Mackie, and Horizon (based on the game series Horizon: Zero Dawn and its sequel). God of War is going to be the fourth.
No Premiere Date Has Been Set For God Of War
It's too soon to know when God of War is going to be released, as we only just got the info that it’s actually happening. But we can always theorize. It’s most likely not going to be on the 2023 release schedule, because Kratos hasn’t even been cast yet as far as we know, and it's unclear when production will begin.
I’d say that even 2024 would be generous because the amount of effects that the show is probably going to need to pull off the monsters that are featured in the game are stupendous, so maybe not until 2025, though we'll have to wait and see.
Either way, I’m excited to keep repeating “boy” over and over again like I did when I played the first game, and I’m eagerly awaiting any new God of War news I can get.
