Ryan Hurst, currently on big screens everywhere as Mentor in Christopher Nolan’s film The Odyssey, was originally going to play Kratos in Amazon’s God of War TV adaptation before suffering a bicep injury that would prevent him from playing the character. It’s been a few weeks since news of Hurst stepping down came out, and now it sounds like Dave Bautista, the wrestler-turned-actor perhaps best known for his role as Drax the Destroyer in Guardians of the Galaxy and the broader Marvel Cinematic Universe, is in talks to play Atreus’ dad in the series.
Deadline reports that Bautista is in early negotiations for the role with Amazon now, but no official announcement has come out yet. If this comes to pass, Bautista would be re-shooting the four episodes of the show Hurst already filmed in addition to those that have yet to be shot. Also if cast, Bautista will star opposite Chucky child actor Callum Vinson, who is playing Atreus in the first season, though he will not star as Kratos’ son in future seasons, as Amazon plans to age up the character with a different actor. The same is apparently true for actor Island Austin, who is playing a younger version of Thor’s daughter Thrud and will similarly be replaced in season two.
Production of the God of War show was put on hold following Hurst’s injury, with plans to resume in mid-October. Luckily, Bautista won’t need time to bulk up for the role because he’s already jacked and combat ready.
Outside of the MCU, Bautista’s other notable roles include Dune villain Glossu, red-pill content influencer Duke Cody in Glass Onion, and even some voice acting as the ancient air nomad Tagah in Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender.
