God of War is the latest first-party franchise under the PlayStation Studios banner to receive the live-action treatment in partnership with Amazon Prime Video. Studio executives praised the scripts penned by the original showrunners; unfortunately, their hard work has now been wasted and the company decided to move in a different direction.
While it is unfortunate to see what could have been worthwhile and quality content shelved or scrapped, perhaps the decision to start from scratch is an opportunity to improve. Adapting one of the most popular video game franchises of recent years can be challenging, and the executives must have their reasons behind the decision to restart.
The Live-Action God of War TV Series Has Ran Into a Minor Speed Bump
The gaming community erupted with joy and showed a speck of skepticism after the announcement that God of War will be adapted into a live-action television show with Amazon Prime Video. Two years after the announcement, fans expected to hear positive news about the project; unfortunately, they received the opposite after discovering the showrunners withdrew from the project.
Enough time has passed and the gaming community would naturally expect some positive feedback about the development, maybe a teaser or even a first look; unfortunately, this will push the project back further than expected.
This delay will allow fans to cast their votes on who should play the titular anti-hero, and these suggestions could have been within the reach of the earmarks of series producers.
While there is no official confirmation why the scripts of Rafe Judkins, Mark Fergus, and Hawk Otsby are not being used for the first season of the show, insiders claim that studio executives liked their work but opted to go in a different creative direction and ultimately decided to do a significant creative overhaul, further delaying the release date.
Fans will have to wait a little longer to see Kratos in live action, and it may not be a bad idea. The franchise is renowned for several reasons, and it would make sense for the studio to do it right and prevent succumbing to the curse of awful video game adaptations.
Amazon Prime Video is the home of plenty of great shows such as The Boys, the live-action Fallout series, which was universally praised, and the upcoming Like a Dragon: Yakuza show that looks promising.
There is a possibility that this upcoming live-action project will no longer be an authentic adaptation and a reboot of the story. Studio executives are actively searching for new writers to take this franchise in a different creative approach, which could mean plenty of other things.
It is sad to see two years’ worth of work down the drain; however, there is an upside. Initially, the show would completely skip the Greek Saga and focus on the present Norse Saga featuring Norse deities and other familiar story beats. Perhaps Sony Pictures and Amazon Prime Video reconsidered their options and thought it would be a waste not to show Kratos in his earlier days.
The Upcoming God of War Amazon TV Show Should Show How Kratos Earned His Title
Before the Norse Saga kicked off, Kratos was a different man during the original trilogy. After killing the entire Greek pantheon in his blind pursuit of revenge against those who wronged him, the average player could conclude that Kratos is nothing more than a monster. Kratos was a tough character to develop, especially with his background, but directors Cory Barlog and Eric Williams made it work for the Norse Saga.
Kratos was a different man by the time the Norse Saga started, and it would have felt off to skip directly to that version of the character without knowing his past. The television show is made for a new audience unfamiliar with the source material, and they deserve to know the full extent of the story.
The Greek Saga made Kratos who he was in the Norse Saga; his actions changed his view of godhood and made him reluctant to interact with anyone else except his family. It would be a missed opportunity to skip all of his struggles to reach this level of character development.
If the executives were to use the original plan of skipping directly to the Norse Saga, the show would have been too short whereas adapting the entire saga would have been the better choice to stretch the show across multiple seasons similar to what HBO and Sony will be doing for The Last of Us Season 2.
Santa Monica Studio could adapt this series into an animated project; however, it may not be suitable for all audiences. Most fans would have preferred to see a live-action movie instead of a television show, but there are perks to the television structure. The showrunners will not have to worry about sticking to a minimum runtime and take their time exploring other stories.
The television format suits video game adaptations better because they can be much longer and chopped into episodes rather than a full feature-length film with a modest run time. The original trilogy set during the Greek Saga has enough content that can easily take up multiple seasons, and writers have the opportunity to expand the lore or add original story beats the source material never had.
Creative overhauls can be daunting, especially after the amount of work already put into the project. Perhaps what the original showrunners wrote was great, but studio executives saw the bigger picture and the potential for this project to be even better. There is still a possibility for the original scripts to be repurposed for future seasons after the show wraps up the Greek Saga.
What are your thoughts about the significant creative overhauls the live-action God of War TV show is having? Let us know in the comments section below!
