The man who gave Kratos his growl in God of War Ragnarök did, in fact, audition to reprise the Ghost of Sparta in live action — and then decided against it. Christopher Judge has confirmed to Collider that he read for Prime Video’s God of War TV adaptation, only to realize the role wasn’t for him.
“I did read for it! It was so hard for me to memorize my lines, which I never had a problem with,” Judge said. He framed the struggle as his body sending a message. “I was one of the leads of Stargate at 33 to 44 and then stopped. Now, at 62, to be the lead, I just have no desire to live that way again.”
Judge knows a bit about long hauls. He played Jaffa warrior Teal’c across 211 episodes of Stargate between 1997 and 2007, and in 2022 became the second actor to voice and perform motion capture for Kratos in God of War Ragnarök. Carrying a series lead through years of production, he’s decided, is a lifestyle he’s done with.
The show itself has had a bumpy road to camera. A first-look photo of Kratos drew heavy fan criticism — and pushback from originally cast actor Ryan Hurst himself — before Hurst was recast entirely following a severe on-set injury. Stepping into the role is Dave Bautista, best known as Drax the Destroyer in James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy films.
Judge, for his part, is firmly in Bautista’s corner, even if his blessing came wrapped in a bit of concern. “With Ryan, I thought that was absolutely the right choice. He’s played all the games. He’s a gamer and new father; like, who better?” he said of Hurst. On the switch to Bautista: “I thought, ‘Didn’t he just lose like 100 pounds?’ So I hope he’s going to be great. I think he’s going to be great. I just hope it doesn’t cause any health issues to put back on all that weight.”
Around the new Kratos, Prime Video has assembled a pantheon worth of talent. The current cast includes Ed Skrein as Baldur, Ólafur Darri Ólafsson as Thor, Mandy Patinkin as Odin, Teresa Palmer as Sif, Max Parker as Heimdall, Sonya Walger as Freya, and Alastair Duncan as Mimir.
There’s still no release date for the adaptation. But with a Norse-mythology ensemble this deep and a bona fide action star now wielding the Blades of Chaos, the show has plenty to prove after a rough opening act.
