God Of War's Kratos Star Has Perplexing Reaction To Divisive First-Look Image
God of War's divisive first-look image has prompted a response from Kratos himself. Based on the popular video game franchise from Sony's Santa Monica Studio, Prime Video's upcoming adaptation hails from showrunner Ronald D. Moore, with Ryan Hurst starring as Kratos. Anticipation for the God of War TV show is high, but a recent first-look image of Kratos and his son, Atreus (Callum Vinson), was met with a mixed response online. Posting to his Instagram story, Hurst now seemingly addresses the backlash to the God of War image, which was criticized for not looking quite right. "Don't believe everything you see on the internet, kids," Hurst writes, a comment that only raises more questions.
A screenshot of Ryan Hurst's Instagram story
The first-look image came directly from Prime Video, with the caption reading: "Father and son. Behold your first look at Kratos and Atreus in the God of War series now in production. Their journey to the highest peak begins." Exactly what Hurst means by his comment, then, isn't clear, as the image is about as official as it gets. It should be noted that official publicity stills for movies and TV shows don't often reflect the way these projects look when they actually release. Often, these kinds of first-look images aren't captured from footage that has actually been shot and are instead staged photo ops, with lighting that reflects this.
Ryan Hurst as Kratos and Callum Vinson as Atreus in Prime Video's God of War first look image
It's unlikely that Hurst is calling the validity of the official first-look image itself into question, and he could instead be referring to what it suggests about the lighting, atmosphere, and production quality of the series. Though the image does look like a staged photo, giving it a cosplay-like quality, the final product could end up being darker, more gritty, and generally more akin to the games.
Also starring Teresa Palmer, Ed Skrein, Mandy Patinkin, and Ólafur Darri Ólafsson, the God of War TV show isn't a one-to-one adaptation of any particular game, but it does draw heavily from the 2018 entry in the franchise, which moves the action from Ancient Greece to the realms of Norse mythology.
The series, which doesn't yet have a confirmed release date, follows Kratos as he embarks on a journey to spread his wife's ashes with Atreus. On their travels, Kratos attempts to teach his son to be a better god, while Atreus attempts to teach his father to be a better person. The God of War video game franchise remains immensely popular and acclaimed, meaning the show will release to high expectations. It remains to be seen how the series compares to the games and to the first-look image, but Hurst's comment suggests audiences shouldn't rush to judgment just yet.
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