This news doesn’t come as a huge surprise; reports surfaced that Bautista was in talks to join the project earlier this month, with the end goal of playing Kratos.
Credit to  Variety, the former wrestler is now set to take on the character’s mantle, prevously played by Ryan Hurst, who notably portrayed Thor in the God of War games.
Hurst was in the middle of filming a stunt for the series when he tore his bicep. The grueling injury was severe, and his lengthy recovery timeline would have thrown a major wrench in production, prompting the studio to recast the role rather than wait for him to heal.
It didn’t take long for them to find their new Kratos, and fans of the series are already praising this casting choice, though many are noting that the actor — who famously dropped 75 pounds in late 2024— will likely need to bulk up to his Drax the Destroyer bod again.
This isn’t the only video game adaptation with a GoW acronym that Bautista is keen on being involved with; he’s famously campaigned to star in a Gears of War series for some time now, calling Marcus Fenix his “dream role.”
In 2018, Bautista claimed to be actively pursuing the project with the Gears of War rights holders, and even pitched it to Universal when they approached him for a role in the Fast and Furious movies.
Prime Video’s God of War series will reportedly resume in mid-October 2026, with prep to start this month.
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