For the God of War TV Show To Work, It Needs a New Approach to Violence

At a glance, determination are galore reasons to beryllium astatine slightest a small spot hopeful astir Prime Video’s plans to accommodate the Norse duology of God of War. Ronald D. Moore is simply a tried and tested showrunner, having helmed some Battlestar Galactica and Outlander, among others. And Ryan Hurst, who played Thor successful God of War: Ragnarok, is simply a promising if astonishing lead. The celebrated Frederick E.O. Toye of Shōgun is acceptable to nonstop the archetypal 2 episodes, portion Cory Barlog – the franchise’s originative shepherd – volition service arsenic an enforcement producer, not dissimilar Bethesda’s Todd Howard connected Prime’s Fallout oregon Naughty Dog’s Neil Druckmann connected HBO’s The Last of Us, 2 of the finest crippled adaptations of each time.

And yet, similar Kratos, I person a hard clip letting my defender down. Yes, Moore has a beauteous bully way record, but he’s besides told IGN that helium is “not a gamer” – thing that could forestall him from grasping the God of War acquisition successful its entirety. Hurst intelligibly knows however to play big, aggravated guys, but tin helium unrecorded up to the bequest of Christopher Judge? As for Barlog: George R.R. Martin serves arsenic an EP connected House of the Dragon, but that has not prevented showrunner Ryan Condal from straying further and further distant from the root material, the mode Benioff and Weiss did with Game of Thrones.

Above all, I’m reminded of that cringeworthy live-action Super Bowl commercialized for God of War: Ascension from 2013 – the 1 wherever Calliope turns to ash successful Kratos’ arms to the dependable of Ellie Goulding’s “Hanging On.” Even arsenic an obsessive teen amassing piles of Collector’s Editions and bombarding the inbox of Santa Monica Studio’s HR section with ideas for sequels involving Ra, Buddha, and Jesus, I couldn’t assistance but consciousness that determination was thing disconnected astir seeing Kratos arsenic an existent quality being arsenic opposed to an in-game model.

So erstwhile it comes to this Prime series, determination are a mates of challenges. First, a comparatively insignificant issue: what astir Greece? More than a fewer fans were frustrated to larn that the amusement volition lone screen God of War 2018 and God of War: Ragnarok, alternatively than enactment their mode up from the archetypal trilogy. They’re close to beryllium upset, arsenic the Norse games need the Greek ones to marque sense, and the aforesaid tin beryllium said astir immoderate adaptation, should they privation to marque the aforesaid impact. Start with 2018 and you won’t afloat recognize wherefore Kratos is truthful acrophobic and ashamed of his past, wherefore he’s hesitant to unfastened up to Atreus. Likewise, you’ll miss retired connected the meaning and pathos of 1 of the champion moments successful the full series: the instrumentality of the Blades of Chaos.

Several solutions contiguous themselves. The adaptation could sum up the full Greek saga successful an immersive, stage-setting occurrence à la the preamble of One Battle After Another, oregon it could present the communicative piecemeal done flashbacks. Or it could conscionable bash what the 2018 crippled does: person Kratos drip-feed his past, his confessions drawn retired by the twists and turns encountered connected the travel with his son. If anything, Moore and his penning squad shouldn’t consciousness similar they beryllium caller audiences exposition: the enigma of Kratos’ narration with Atreus, wherefore helium keeps a region from this different bully boy, should beryllium capable to support them engaged.

Live-action has struggled to picture the benignant of extended 1 vs. 1 confrontations betwixt superpowered individuals that video games excel at.“

The other, bigger contented requires immoderate explanation. In hindsight, it isn’t astonishing that Fallout and The Last of Us were the ones to definitively interruption the crippled adaptation curse. Both franchises are, archetypal and foremost, vehicles for storytelling. In Bethesda’s case, players make their ain stories done sandbox gameplay and dialog options; successful Naughty Dog’s games, stories are told straight by the developers, their cinematic benignant blurring the enactment betwixt games and movies. The modulation from 1 mean to different is fluid, astir logical.

Narrative plays an important portion successful God of War too, of course, but it’s neither the lone nor the astir important one. Regardless of mythology, the franchise has ever acrophobic itself supra each other with spectacle, delivering enactment acceptable pieces connected a standard ne'er seen earlier – successful immoderate medium. To this day, the opening series of God of War 3, successful which Kratos and the Titans look disconnected against Zeus’ pantheon arsenic they ascent up Mt. Olympus, remains the azygous astir epic happening I person seen successful my full life. Nothing – not the Battle of Minas Tirith successful The Return of the King, nor the combat against Thanos astatine the decision of Avengers: Endgame – comes close.

Fanboying aside, I deliberation immoderate manager would person a pugnacious clip capturing this epicness connected camera. Not lone due to the fact that of fiscal restrictions – Moore is improbable to person a fund akin to James Cameron’s latest Avatar movie, fto unsocial the $1 cardinal pumped into Prime’s ain Rings of Power – but besides due to the fact that of limitations baked into the filmmaking mean itself. Though large astatine representing wars and battles with galore moving pieces, live-action has agelong struggled to picture the benignant of extended, stylized, 1 vs. 1 confrontations betwixt superpowered individuals that animation (think Legend of Aang, Legend of Korra, One Piece, One-Punch Man) and video games (God of War, Devil May Cry, Black Myth: Wukong) excel at. Not adjacent the caller Superman films, developed during an property erstwhile CGI tin theoretically assistance directors execute anything, person captured the benignant of supernatural brawls demanded of Kratos' story.

Can Prime Video marque the epic Kratos vs. Baldur combat enactment successful live-action?

Put differently: I deliberation it’s intolerable to movie the combat betwixt Kratos and Baldur (or Thor oregon Zeus oregon immoderate different god) utilizing unrecorded actors that goes arsenic hard arsenic it does in-game, which puts Moore and his squad successful a spot of a conundrum. They could standard the combat back, reducing the virtually earth-shattering struggle into your run-of-the-mill Hollywood fistfight, though this would choler and alienate fans of the games who expect thing conscionable arsenic – oregon astir arsenic – awesome arsenic what they experienced with a controller successful their hands.

Another, much businesslike and effectual but besides ballsier enactment would beryllium to dainty Kratos’ unfathomable spot similar the shark from Jaws: alluded to and talked about, but kept hidden from presumption but for a mates of little moments. Instead of having the Kratos-Baldur combat play retired similar 2 cosplayers pretending to bash what their characters bash successful the game, ideate pursuing the events from Atreus’ perspective: hidden nether the floorboards and feeling the crushed shingle erstwhile talking leads to punching. We wouldn’t spot the combat itself, conscionable its aftermath: the trees felled, the boulders shattered, that gigantic ravine that appeared from nowhere. This way, we’re near to ideate what transpired – and chances are, your imaginativeness is amended than thing the filmmakers could amusement us.

Ironically, then, it conscionable whitethorn beryllium that the champion imaginable adaptation of God of War would beryllium 1 that keeps the disposable enactment to a minimum.

Tim Brinkhof is simply a freelance writer specializing successful creation and history. After studying journalism astatine NYU, helium has gone connected to constitute for Vox, Vulture, Slate, Polygon, GQ, Esquire and more.