Image for "God of War" Series on Amazon Draws Ridicule

March 3, 2026, 5:21 pm | Read time: 3 minutes

Video games are the new comics and books when it comes to sources for new movies and series. Film studios and streaming providers are trying to outdo each other with the next big adaptation. With “God of War,” Amazon is working on a series based on one of the biggest PlayStation franchises. However, an initial production photo has turned out to be an early disappointment.

“God of War” Image from Amazon Becomes a PR Disaster

In the upcoming “God of War” series from Amazon, fans of the games can naturally expect to see the main character, Kratos, in action. In the games, he is not very gentle and impresses with his immense strength and equally imposing physical appearance. Especially in the modern installments “God of War” (2018) and “God of War: Ragnarök,” Kratos appears massively muscular and marked by early battles.

This look is now also expected from lead actor Ryan Hurst. But a first released photo has sparked plenty of ridicule and scorn. Among others, David Jaffe, creator of the game series, commented mockingly on it. The main focus is on Kratos’ posture and facial expression. Jaffe calls the image “dumb” and adds in a YouTube video: “Could you find a picture where it doesn’t look like he’s taking a dump in the woods? Because that’s exactly how the photo looks.” Below is the photo in question, showing Kratos with his son Atreus (Callum Vinson):

Here you will find content from third-party providers

To interact with or display third-party content, we need your consent.

In order to display embedded content, your consent to the processing of personal data, which can be revoked at any time (via the switch or via “Revoke tracking and cookies” at the bottom of the page), is required. Data may be transferred to third countries such as the USA (Art. 49 para. 1 lit. a GDPR). By switching to “on” you agree. You can find more information here.

New Mammoth Project! ‘Game of Thrones’ Movie Planned by Warner

From the Creators of "Fallout" One of the most controversial gaming series ever is becoming an Amazon series

Fans Are Not Impressed

Jaffe does concede various possibilities for why Kratos doesn’t appear as expectedly angry in the picture. Perhaps the focus should be on the father-son relationship, and an overly angry Kratos might deter those unfamiliar with the series. Nevertheless, he considers the choice of photos to be unfortunate. Fans online are less diplomatic, posting numerous comments to mock it. For instance, someone on Bluesky wrote that Kratos looks like an alcoholic. And a fan on X even thought it was an AI-generated image.

Kratos Star with Cryptic Message

As reported by “IGN,” actor Hurst has meanwhile spoken out with a cryptic message in his Instagram stories. He said not to believe everything you see online. Although there is no specific reference to the “God of War” series on Amazon, since nothing else related to Hurst was being discussed, it can be assumed he was addressing the backlash.

Also of interest: One of the Biggest Gaming Franchises is Becoming a Netflix Series

Apparently, this suggests that the photo does not represent a final result. Moreover, public reactions could now be considered, and potential changes made. Such a case has already occurred with the first “Sonic” movie, where massive fan complaints led to a new design for the title character.

It remains to be seen if this will also be the case here. In any case, there is no release date for the series yet, and it could be several years before it appears. It is already known that at least two seasons are planned.

This article is a machine translation of the original German version of TECHBOOK and has been reviewed for accuracy and quality by a native speaker. For feedback, please contact us at info@techbook.de.