Live-action video games adaptations seem to be announced every week and next up we have the announcement of PlayStation’s hit video game franchise God of War coming to Amazon’s Prime Video, with “Wheel of Time” boss Rafe Judkins set as showrunner.
According to Amazon, based on the 2018 video game, the show will follow Kratos, the God of War, who, after exiling himself from his blood-soaked past in ancient Greece, hangs up his weapons forever in the Norse realm of Midgard. When his beloved wife dies, Kratos sets off on a dangerous journey with his estranged son Atreus to spread her ashes from the highest peak — his wife’s final wish. Kratos soon realizes the journey is an epic quest in disguise, one which will test the bonds between father and son, and force Kratos to battle new gods and monsters for the fate of the world.
Judkins will showrun and executive produce the series based on the game developed by Santa Monica Studio, with “Iron Man” and “Children of Men” writers Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby also writing and executive producing. Santa Monica Studio’s studio creative director Cory Barlog will also serve as executive producer, in addition to Playstation Productions’ Asad Qizilbash and Carter Swan, Santa Monica Studio’s Yumi Yang and Vertigo’s Roy Lee. Santa Monica Studio’s Jeff Ketcham is co-executive producer. The show is a co-production between Amazon Studios and Sony Picture Television in association with PlayStation Productions.
Vernon Sanders, head of global television at Amazon Studios, said:
“God of War is a compelling, character-driven franchise that we believe will captivate our global customers as much with its expansive and immersive worlds as its rich storytelling. We are honored to share in the adventure of exploring the God of War mythology in such a momentous way with Sony Pictures Television, PlayStation Productions, and Santa Monica Studio.”
The God of War TV series marks the latest show based on a video game that is either in the works or in production, including Amazon’s “Fallout” adaptation from “Westworld” creators Lisa Joy and Jonathan Nolan, HBO’s “The Last of Us” (based on another PlayStation property), Paramount+’s “Halo,” the Anthony Mackie-led “Twisted Metal” at Peacock, among others.
Katherine Pope, president of Sony Pictures Television Studios, said:
“We are so proud and excited to be working with our friends at Amazon Studios and our partners at PlayStation Productions to adapt this beautiful and heartbreaking game into a premium live-action series. Rafe, Mark and Hawk are crafting a transportive series that charts a path through the ancient mythological journey of Kratos.
Added Asad Qizilbash, head of PlayStation Productions:
“God of War is one of PlayStation’s most awarded video games, so we’re excited to partner with Sony Pictures Television and Amazon Studios to bring our beloved franchise to fans and new audiences in a bold and authentic way.”
A sequel to the 2018 God of War game, titled God of War: Ragnarok, was just released last month. At last week’s Game Award, it won for best narrative, action/adventure game, score/music, audio design, performance for Kratos actor Christopher Judge and innovation in accessibility.
