God of War Creator Says Kratos 'Look Like He's S***ting in the Woods' in Amazon TV Series First Look Image

After days of online backlash to Amazon’s God of War TV bid archetypal look image, David Jaffe, creator of the video crippled bid upon which the amusement is based, has delivered his verdict — and helium held thing back.

Some said the representation looked similar an AI-fueled deepfake. Others said it looked cheap, similar cosplay. Others said histrion Ryan Hurst wasn’t ripped capable to play Kratos, and that Callum Vinson is excessively young to play Atreus. Whatever your feeling connected the image, it’s wide God of War has made a mediocre archetypal impression.

Now, successful a absorption video posted to his YouTube channel, Jaffe has called the representation “dumb” and “terrible” and questioned the determination to merchandise it arsenic a archetypal look. But, ultimately, helium feels assured successful the show, due to the fact that Ronald D. Moore of Battlestar Galactica and Star Trek Deep Space Nine fame is successful spot arsenic showrunner, and Cory Barlog, main God of War developer astatine Sony Santa Monica, is besides involved.

“It's truthful dumb,” Jaffe began. “But, okay, let's beryllium incredibly clear, okay? Two things tin beryllium true. This tin beryllium a unspeakable image, and it is. It is truthful atrocious successful truthful galore ways, which we'll speech astir successful a moment. And Ron Moore is awesome, who is the showrunner. He created the caller Battlestar. He didn't make it, due to the fact that it's based connected books, but Outlander, astir the pistillate who goes backmost successful time. He's done Star Trek stuff. The feline is simply a juggernaut of a talented fellow. I person perfectly nary uncertainty it is going to beryllium a bully show. Cory [Barlog] is connected it. I deliberation Cory has a large woody to offer, not conscionable to this universe, but he's large with storytelling. I'm not disquieted astir the show.

“But I'm a small disquieted about, what the f*** is this? Not due to the fact that I'm like, however situation they, it doesn't look similar Kratos! I don't attraction astir that. A bully histrion is simply a bully histrion and that's each you need. I'd overmuch alternatively person a large histrion who embodies the essence of the quality and makes the quality endearing oregon memorable oregon iconic, than looks conscionable similar the idiosyncratic successful the video game. Who cares, right? I mean, you attraction close now, but yet they tin become, you know… Peter Parker ne'er looked similar Tobey Maguire until Tobey Maguire became Peter Parker, right? So, I'm not disquieted astir that stuff.

“It's conscionable a dumb f***ing image.”

Jaffe went connected to explicit disorder astatine the cryptic societal media station from Kratos histrion Ryan Hurst implicit the weekend. Hurst took to Instagram to say, “Don’t judge everything you spot connected the internet, kids.” He didn’t namecheck the God of War image, but it seems apt that’s precisely what the connection was successful notation to.

“Well past wherefore is goddamn Prime Video releasing it?” Jaffe countered. “This isn't immoderate down the scenes happening that idiosyncratic snuck from the set. This is an authoritative merchandise from Amazon, who is producing the show. So I don’t cognize what the f*** that means.”

Jaffe continued by discussing however Kratos looks successful the image, arsenic good arsenic the younger Atreus. He was captious of both, arsenic they look successful the representation released by Amazon.

“Kratos conscionable successful this airs with this face… expression, not the guy's face, but this expression, helium conscionable looks stupid,” Jaffe said. “If you are going to uncover to astir radical a marque caller quality that you anticipation is going to transportation your bid for the archetypal time, and they've ne'er truly seen this before, and this is the mode you present them… I mean, possibly that's conscious. Maybe they're like, ‘Well, what we truly privation to absorption connected is the father-son story.’ And if we absorption connected him being similar Spartan rage and each that, possibly radical are like, ‘I don't privation to ticker that show.’ Okay, maybe. But past astatine that point, could you find a representation that doesn't look similar he's s***ting successful the woods, cuz that's what the representation looks like.”

Then, connected Atreus: “The kid, I get that they wanted a younger kid than Atreus was. I deliberation Atreus was similar 11 oregon 10 successful the archetypal 2018 game. They privation this kid to property with the bid and if you prosecute him present and he's 12 and they don't commencement filming the caller bid till he's 14, he's going to beryllium excessively aged for the arc that they're intelligibly building. So, I don't caput that he's young.

“I’m not being mean to a child. I'm definite he's a fantastic child, a bully looking kid, talented, but his hairsbreadth looks similar it's got tons of merchandise successful it. I cognize he's expected to beryllium a small kid. But is helium a small kid that needs glasses? Is helium a small kid that possibly is simply a small special? Because look however he's holding the bow and wherever he's aiming the bow. It's similar he's not aiming… it's conscionable weird the mode the full representation looks. He looks similar he's a precise confused small lad with mode excessively overmuch merchandise successful his hair.

“Neither of these characters look precise absorbing oregon appealing. They look conscionable dumb. Like if this was God of War Dumb and Dumber Edition, that's what you would expect. Like it's a comedy.”

You’d deliberation that would beryllium enough, but Jaffe said the “most violative thing” astir the representation is not Kratos oregon Atreus, but the styrofoam stone placed betwixt them.

“You would deliberation successful a satellite of CG and AI and implicit a period of movie magic, of real-time applicable effects, oregon amended yet… the effect is astir apt fine. The existent instauration of the rock, the guys who made the prop, the ladies who made the prop are astir apt great. It's the deficiency of lighting,” helium said. “This looks similar what you would spell into a hobby store and bargain for your f***train acceptable for like, ‘Oh I got the boulder acceptable for the trains to spell by and it's got the moss that immoderate amateur trade feline is benignant of glued on. It's conscionable a unspeakable image.”

Ultimately, though, Jaffe said he’s not disquieted astir the God of War amusement and thinks it volition beryllium fine.

“I'm definite the amusement volition beryllium good though, chiefly due to the fact that Ron Moore is simply a truly bully creator and showrunner, and Cory's progressive and I deliberation it'll beryllium large for radical who similar this benignant of thing,” helium concluded. “I'm honestly conscionable much confused. I'm confused by who astatine Amazon oregon PlayStation Productions, that I person a large woody of respect for, is like, you cognize what, ‘Out of the 80 images we could release, this is the one.’ That idiosyncratic needs to beryllium connected immoderate benignant of list. Don't fto that idiosyncratic get connected a level due to the fact that I don't deliberation they're well.”

“Atreus, the 10-year-old lad of Kratos, grew up successful a distant wood cabin, isolated from the remainder of the satellite and raised astir wholly by his mother, Faye,” an authoritative statement for the quality says. “He is an accomplished archer, has an affinity for animals, and is intensely funny astir what lies beyond the confines of his wood home. After his mother’s death, Atreus is near with a cold, distant begetter who helium hardly knows and who knows small astir him successful return. Nonetheless, Atreus yearns for his father’s support and is hopeless to beryllium helium is beardown capable to past successful a harsh and unsafe world.”

Hurst, meanwhile, played Thor successful Sony Santa Monica's 2022 video crippled sequel God of War Ragnarok. “Through their adventures, Kratos tries to thatch his lad to beryllium a amended god,” an authoritative statement says, “while Atreus tries to thatch his begetter however to beryllium a amended human.”

Teresa Palmer, Max Parker, Ólafur Darri Ólafsson, and Mandy Patinkin person joined arsenic Sif, Heimdall, Thor, and Odin, respectively. The astir caller additions saw Amazon bringing backmost Alastair Duncan arsenic Mimir, portion besides adding newcomers Danny Woodburn arsenic Brok and Jeff Gulka arsenic Sindri. Deadpool histrion Ed Skrein plays Baldur.

Production is presently underway successful Vancouver, with a two-season bid mounting showrunner Ronald D. Moore of Battlestar Galactica and Star Trek Deep Space Nine fame up for immoderate time.

Word of a live-action God of War adaptation archetypal arrived successful aboriginal 2022 earlier Amazon moved to officially denote the task aboriginal that aforesaid year. After a troubled improvement saw the exit of erstwhile showrunner Rafe Judkins arsenic Amazon deed the reset button, the amusement yet recovered a caller originative direction. Moore took implicit arsenic showrunner successful precocious 2024, with Shogun and The Boys seasoned Frederick E.O. Toye tapped to nonstop its archetypal 2 episodes.

Amazon and Sony person not announced a merchandise day for the God of War show. While we wait, cheque retired our interrogation with Ronald D. Moore from SDCC 2025, wherever helium talked astir his imaginativeness for the series. We’ve besides got a communicative connected Sony Santa Monica’s reported adjacent God of War game, which is simply a spot surprising.

Image credit: Amazon Prime Video.

Wesley is Director, News astatine IGN. Find him connected Twitter astatine @wyp100. You tin scope Wesley astatine [email protected] oregon confidentially astatine [email protected].