God of War: Judge Discusses Passing on Kratos Return in Amazon Series

Posted in: Amazon Studios, Games, TV | Tagged: God of War

God of War: Judge Discusses Passing on Kratos Return in Amazon Series

God of War games star Christopher Judge discusses why he passed on the opportunity to reprise playing Kratos for Prime Video's series.

Published Wed, 02 Sep 2026 07:38:08 -0500
by Tom Chang
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When Prime Video announced a live-action adaptation of the Sony PlayStation video game franchise God of War, initially from Mark Fergus, Hawk Ostby, and showrunner Rafe Judkins, things took a turn creatively when the studio hired Ronald D. Moore (Battlestar Galactica, For All Mankind) to take over, with the story shifting toward an older incarnation of Kratos. Shockingly, star Christopher Judge, who has voiced the titular role since the 2018 PS4 game of the same name, the fourth in the franchise that began in 2005, and last in 2023's God of War Ragnarök: Valhalla, wasn't in the running for the role despite his memorable run as proud Jaffa warrior Teal'c on Stargate SG-1. Ryan Hurst, who voiced Thor in 2022's God of War Ragnarök, was cast before a serious on-set accident sidelined him, and Prime Video recast the role with Dave Bautista. Speaking with Collider at Fan Expo Canada, Judge was outspoken about how Prime Video didn't tap the game franchise's writers for the series, his doubts, and why he passed on playing the live-action Kratos.

'God of War' Games Star Christopher Judge on Why He Passed on Reprising Kratos in Prime Video Series

"First of all, I want anything 'God of War' to be great," Judge clarified on his stance on the Prime Video series. When it comes to chiming in on the unfortunate on-set accident that changed lead actors, "With Ryan, I thought that was absolutely the right choice. He's played all the games. He's a gamer and new father; like, who better? Then, when he got hurt, it was like, are they going to take time to read with and call people back? So when I heard the name of Bautista, I thought, 'Didn't he just lose like 100 pounds?' So I hope he's going to be great. I think he's going to be great. I just hope it doesn't cause any health issues to put back on all that weight."

Sadly, Judge, who's been more dedicated to his voice work, found out the physical and mental limitations that would prevent him from committing, "We had talked, and I thought, 'God, what a great legacy to leave for my grandson.' So I started working out. I got bigger. Then, just the reality of it… because I did read! I did read for it. It was so hard for me to memorize my lines, which I never had a problem with. And that was my mind and body starting to tell me, 'You don't want to do this.' I was one of the leads of Stargate at 33 to 44 and then stopped. Now, at 62, to be the lead, I just have no desire to live that way again." For more, you can check out the entire interview.

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