Prime Video’s God of War series has a new actor playing the stoic god-killer Kratos, and as previously reported, it is indeed Dave Bautista. After the original actor cast for the role, Ryan Hurst, suffered a bicep tear during filming that forced him to leave the role, Amazon and Sony moved quickly to find a replacement. Variety reported that Bautista will now play the iconic video game character across two planned seasons.
While it’s bad news for Hurst–who recently revealed how shredded he got the role–Bautista is well-suited to the part. A former WWE performer, Bautista made a name for himself in the sports entertainment promotion, first appearing as an intimidating enforcer for Reverend D-Von. Working under the ring name of Batista, his career took off after he joined Triple H’s Evolution stable. Winning multiple championships throughout his run, Batista’s whole gimmick was that of a hulking monster who towered over most of his opponents and dominated them with brute force–no small feat considering that WWE had no shortage of physically imposing performers on the roster.
