Of all of the many video game adaptations that are in the works right now in Hollywood, few carry quite as much promise as Amazon’s God of War TV series. The original God of War games — particularly the franchise’s 2018 and 2022 installments — already boast a cinematic quality that should make them easier to adapt for the big or small screen than most video games. Despite that fact, Amazon has made little progress on its God of War adaptation in the two years since it greenlit it with a series order.
As a matter of fact, the project has just taken a major step backward. Deadline reports that original God of War showrunner Rafe Judkins, as well as fellow executive producers Hawk Ostby and Mark Fergus, have all parted ways with the project. This development comes even after the trio completed multiple scripts for the show’s intended first season and is due to Sony Pictures TV and Amazon MGM Studios’ shared desire to take the series in a new creative direction.
Yumi Yang and Cory Barlog of God of War developer Santa Monica Studio are still attached to the TV show as executive producers, as are Asad Qizilbash, Carter Swan, Yumi Land, and Roy Lee. Moving forward, Amazon and Sony reportedly plan to put together an entirely new group of writers for God of War and essentially start over from scratch.
Amazon is no stranger to high-profile video game adaptations. Earlier this year, the platform premiered its long-awaited live-action Fallout series based on the video game franchise of the same name, and it quickly emerged as one of the biggest TV hits of the year. Rafe Judkins also has a history with Amazon. The creative is, in fact, the showrunner of The Wheel of Time, which premiered on Prime Video back in 2021.
It’s been previously confirmed that Amazon’s God of War series will focus on the franchise’s Norse Era. Assuming that Sony and Amazon don’t intend to entirely move away from that approach, that means the show will pick up with its protagonist, Kratos, years after he has left his bloody, revenge-fueled days as the Greek God of War behind. 2018’s God of War specifically follows Kratos as he sets off on an epic quest with his son, Atreus, to fulfill his wife’s final wish of spreading her ashes from the highest mountain peak of the Norse realm of Midgard. Along the way, Kratos and Atreus are forced to fight for their lives against various Norse gods, monsters, and other mythological figures.
It is, as of now, unclear what it was about Judkins, Ostby, and Fergus’ take on God of War that made Sony and Amazon decide to move away from it altogether. Taking into account the success of Fallout and the God of War franchise’s popularity, though, it makes sense that the studios want to take extra care with the new adaptation — even if that means potentially delaying its premiere by another several years.