Amazon is making a live-action adaptation of God of War, specifically the 2018 game set in Norse mythology. The show hasn’t begun shooting yet, but the casting announcements are trickling out as Amazon and Sony prepare to move ahead with production. Some actors fans will recognize from other shows and movies as well as the games, but so far only one is reprising their role from the actual Santa Monica Studio’s franchise. Let’s run down who we know is in the God of War TV show thus far.
Ryan Hurst as Kratos
Leading the show will be Ryan Hurst as the god of war himself. Hurst played Thor in the games, so he’s familiar with the source material, though the familiar casting wasn’t without a little bit of controversy, as this will be the first time Kratos is not portrayed by a Black actor. Outside of playing Thor in Ragnarok, Hurst has also played Opie in Sons of Anarchy and Beta in the Walking Dead franchise. Most recently, he has played Miles in the new Netflix western series The Abandons.
Callum Vinson as Atreus
The co-lead of the series will be child actor Callum Vinson as Kratos’ son Atreus. One of Vinson’s most high-profile roles hasn’t actually premiered yet. He’s playing a young Jason Vorhees in Crystal Lake, a Friday the 13th prequel coming to Peacock later this year. But beyond that, he’s also appeared in series like Poker Face, Chucky, and voiced Piglet in recent iterations of Winnie the Pooh. That’s a pretty decent resume for someone so young.
Alastair Duncan as Mimir
One of the other game actors coming back to God of War for the show is Mimir actor Alastair Duncan, who is, thus far, the only performer reprising their existing role from the games for the show. Duncan’s voice performance was already one of the stand-outs in the God of War games, so I’m sure he’ll crush it again on TV.
Danny Woodburn and Jeff Gulka as Brok and Sindri
Rounding out our known heroes are Danny Woodburn and Jeff Gulka as the bickering dwarven brothers Brok and Sindri, respectively. Woodburn has been in shows like Seinfeld, Conan the Adventurer, Bones, and recently appeared as Zoltan in Netflix’s Witcher series. Gulka, meanwhile, has worked on shows like X-Files and Stargate.
Max Parker as Heimdall
It looks like the show will be playing with the timeline of the games a bit, as Heimdall is set to appear in the first season, though he didn’t appear in the games until Ragnarok. Boots actor Max Parker will portray the evil bastard. He has also led Vampire Academy and Blood, Sex & Royalty.
Ólafur Darri Ólafsson as Thor
With Hurst playing Kratos this time around, someone else has to pick up Mjölnir for the show. Icelandic actor Ólafur Darri Ólafsson will portray the god of thunder. Severance fans will likely recognize him as Mr. Drummond, where he was a very intimidating presence throughout the second season. Not a bad pick for God of War’s version of Thor.
Mandy Patinkin as Odin
Odin, who, again, was an enigma throughout the first Norse God of War, will be showing up early in the Amazon series, as well. Storied actor Mandy Patinkin will be playing the all-father, and I’m eager to see him fill the shoes left by Richard Schiff, who played him in Ragnarok. Patinkin, on top of having a long history in theater collaborating with legends like Andrew Lloyd Webber, has also been in plenty of films and television across his decades-long career, including his iconic role as Inigo Montoya in The Princess Bride.
Teresa Palmer as Sif
Warm Bodies actor Teresa Palmer has joined the cast as Sif, the wife of Thor and mother of Magni, Modi, and Thrúd. Palmer has most recently led the TV series The Last Anniversary, Mix Tape, and The Family Next Door last year.
That’s all we know so far, but if you’ve played the Norse God of War games, you know they’re packed with characters. We still haven’t heard who’s being cast for Freya, Baldur, Angrboda, and many, many others. The God of War show is currently in pre-production, with the 2018 game’s director Cory Barlog on board as an executive producer, but there’s no set release date yet.
