Amazon's first look at its live-action God of War series has triggered immediate backlash from fans who call the character designs unconvincing and inferior to fan cosplay. The streaming service revealed Ryan Hurst as Kratos and Callum Vinson as Atreus this week, but social media reactions suggest the adaptation faces an uphill battle winning over its core audience.
The image shows Hurst's Kratos standing beside a tree watching his son Atreus, depicting what appears to be an early scene from the 2018 game where Kratos teaches hunting skills. Instead of building anticipation, the reveal generated widespread criticism across Reddit and X, with fans pointing out issues ranging from costume quality to makeup mismatches.
Longtime players of the PlayStation franchise expressed particular disappointment with how clean Kratos appears compared to his battle-worn video game counterpart. One fan noted that modern game graphics have evolved so close to photorealism that live-action adaptations inevitably look like "SNL skits" by comparison.
Others compared the official reveal unfavorably to high-quality fan cosplay, suggesting amateur efforts captured the characters' essence more effectively.
Hurst, known for roles in Sons of Anarchy and The Walking Dead, previously voiced Thor in Sony's 2022 God of War Ragnarok game. Vinson brings experience from Chucky and Poker Face to his portrayal of Atreus, though fans observed he looks younger than the ten-year-old character described in official series materials.
Production on the two-season series began on February 27, 2026 in Vancouver under showrunner Ronald D. Moore, who took over creative direction in late 2024 after previous showrunner Rafe Judkins departed. The adaptation follows Amazon's successful Fallout series but faces higher expectations given God of War's intensely loyal fanbase and recent video game adaptations like HBO's The Last of Us setting new quality standards.
Supporting cast includes Ed Skrein as Baldur, Max Parker as Heimdall, Mandy Patinkin as Odin, Ólafur Darri Ólafsson as Thor, Teresa Palmer as Sif, Alastair Duncan reprising his game role as Mimir, Danny Woodburn as Brok, and Jeff Gulka as Sindri. The series will explore the father-son relationship central to the 2018 narrative as Kratos and Atreus journey to spread the ashes of Atreus' mother Faye.
Principal photography began on February 27, 2026 and is expected to wrap on April 7, 2027, with no confirmed release date yet announced. Despite current criticism, some observers note this is early production material that could improve significantly before final release.
