Amazon currently filming first two seasons of God of War adaptation

It’s a testament to the quality of today’s video games that so many of them are now being adapted into television series. Fallout and The Last of Us have attracted huge audiences and now act as flagship series for Amazon Prime Video and Max respectively.

Now, television creators are exploring other games that have the potential to work on screen. God of War is an obvious choice, and Amazon Prime Video is currently working on the first two seasons of the show.

God of War series looks set to tackle Norse mythology

The God of War game franchise is one of the best-selling series ever. Until recently, it covered Greek mythology, but the latest two titles used Norse mythology and were two of the most successful games in the series. It’s widely expected that the upcoming series will be based on 2018’s God of War and 2022’s God of War: Ragnarök.

This would make sense, as the series could also capitalise on the growing interest in this mythology across other forms of entertainment. For instance, there are various bingo Slingo games with themes inspired by Norse mythology, featuring gods, runes and the halls of Asgard.

Amazon may also be hoping to piggyback on the success of Vikings, which is up there with the most-watched historical series of all time. The History Channel’s offering also led to the Vikings: Valhalla spinoff. On top of that, there’s the Bloodaxe series that’s set to air on Amazon Prime Video in 2027.

A lot of the gods from Norse mythology, including Thor and Odin, are well known to modern viewers, meaning that the God of War series could easily tackle these characters and many viewers would have some background knowledge of them.

Dave Bautista taking on the role of Kratos

Ryan Hurst was originally set to play the iconic lead role of Kratos in Amazon’s God of War adaptation, but the Sons of Anarchy star suffered a serious bicep injury during production. The towering Hurst was seen as a perfect fit for the fearsome protagonist, but showrunners had to replace him to meet the production schedule.

Dave Bautista was selected as the replacement, and the former WWE star now has the chance to make the character his own. Of the various wrestlers who have pursued an acting career outside of WWE, Bautista has earned plenty of plaudits. He has already starred in various films including Guardians of the Galaxy and Dune. This role in God of War could elevate his status further.

Series could replicate success of other game adaptations

Beyond the popularity of Norse mythology, God of War could also benefit from the recent trend of other video game adaptations in the streaming market.

Amazon has already had success with Fallout, with two seasons of the post-apocalyptic series released so far and another in production. The series has already amassed more than 100 million total viewers, and its most recent season holds an impressive score of 97 per cent on Rotten Tomatoes.

The news that Amazon is working on the first two seasons of God of War at once is exciting, as it may mean there won’t be too long a wait between them. However, there is currently no confirmation about when the series will first hit the platform.

The editorial unit