“God of War” video game series actor Christopher Judge expressed frustration that Amazon’s upcoming TV adaptation of the franchise has been developed without involving writers and developers behind the original source material.
Judge, who voiced and performed motion-capture for the series protagonist Kratos in the 2018 title “God of War” and its 2022 sequel “God of War Ragnarök,” shared a statement Thursday advocating for “writers and developers” of the original games.
“I really want them to get the love and respect they deserve. I hope that for all writers and developers of the games that we love,” Judge wrote. “No disrespect to tv and film writers. I had some of the best on ‘Stargate.’”
Judge’s post clarified comments that he had made during a panel at FanExpo Denver back in May, which had resurfaced online earlier in the week through a post from FanExpo. At the event, Judge dug into his frustrations with Amazon’s “God of War” series and HBO’s “The Last of Us,” another TV adaptation of a Sony video game franchise.
“My problem with all gaming adaptations is you have this pre-existing, successful property, and the first thing you do is not hire anyone associated with it. I don’t understand that,” Judge said onstage. “‘The Last of Us,’ love Pedro (Pascal) … Love all of them. I think they’re great. Were they better than the game cast? I saw a stage reading that they did in New York, the game cast. It was unreal. I have no idea why you don’t just take that cast, those writers, especially when you are going to do episodes that are shot-for-shot remakes of the game. I don’t get it.”
“When it was finally approved and announced, and they didn’t hire any of the ‘God of War’ writers, I was like, ‘What are you thinking?’” Judge continued. “These guys have been immersed in this world for 20 years. But someone’s going to know better? … That thinking just drives me bonkers. You have the chance to bring this great fandom with you, who will give you a shot to get better. Now, you better be great out of the gate. Or we’re all leaving.”
Judge went on to clarify that his opinion has “nothing to do” with him not being cast as Kratos in the series and noted that he wouldn’t “want to be a distraction” in a cameo role either.
“Frankly, I’m too old to be live-action Kratos. I’m 62-years-old. I don’t want to go for 14 to 18 hour days. I don’t want to be in the shape that I would feel was necessary to play Kratos. I don’t want to eat like that. I don’t want to not see my kids anymore. I’ve already done that,” Judge said. “This is about everyone else involved with it.”
Amazon has not formally announced a team of writers for its “God of War” series, though “For All Mankind” creator Ronald D. Moore is serving as showrunner, writer and executive producer. Meanwhile, Cory Barlog and Yumi Yang are executive producers, while Jeff Ketcham is a co-executive producer; all three are working through Santa Monica Studios, the developer behind the “God of War” video games. Sony Interactive CEO Hermen Hulst is also an executive producer.
Of the announced series cast, only Alastair Duncan is reprising his role from the games, playing Mimir. Ryan Hurst had been slated to play Kratos after voicing Thor in the games; however, the role is expected to be recast after the actor suffered an injury during production.
With regards to HBO’s “The Last of Us,” the video game series creator Neil Druckmann served as a co-showrunner, writer and director on the first two seasons of the series, but he has stepped away ahead of Season 3 production. Jeffrey Wright and Merle Dandridge reprised their video game roles for the live-action series, though most of the game’s ensemble was recast.
A representative for Amazon did not immediately respond to comment.
