The release of God of War: Ragnarök on PlayStation consoles last fall means this is as good a time as any for Kratos to make the jump to live-action. After securing the rights in early 2022, Amazon Prime Video finally ordered a series adaptation of the God of War franchise in December. And in a new sit-down with Deadline, Sony Pictures Television Studios President Katherine Pope discussed the aims for the upcoming show.
During the interview, Pope acknowledged that PlayStation IP has become “more and more important,” especially following The Last of Us‘ success on HBO. That show seems to have offered a solid blueprint for how to bring certain video game titles to the big or small screens. It’s still early, but Pope indicated that God of War is taking a similar approach of expanding the lore while retaining the key elements of what made the original games so beloved in the first place.
“We’re working on God of War, the PlayStation title, which is still in the early stages,” said Pope. “I know the game pretty well, and I’m so impressed with what they’re already doing in terms of building out that world and expanding, keeping all the values of the game, but also expanding it so that if you don’t know the game, it’s still going to be a really satisfying show on its own.”
RELATED: Amazon Prime Video Officially Orders God of War Series
Santa Monica Studios’ original God of War trilogy, released between 2005 and 2010, followed series protagonist Kratos on his vengeful crusade against the Greek pantheon of gods. These games depicted the character as a one-man killing machine with their hack-and-slash combat mechanics. However, 2018’s eponymous God of War title overhauled the series’ gameplay system completely. It also moved the setting to ancient Norway and added newfound depth to Kratos by giving him a son, Atreus. Early reports suggest the Amazon series will bypass Kratos’ earlier years in ancient Greece and start from this era instead.
Rafe Judkins, who previously developed The Wheel of Time for Amazon, is taking up showrunning duties on God of War as well. The series’ writers room includes The Expanse creators and Iron Man co-writers Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby, who will also serve as executive producers.
What do you think Pope’s comments about God of War? Let us know in the comment section below!
Recommended Reading: God of War by Chris Roberson and Tony Parker
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