Amazon's God of War show just added a TV god as showrunner
Hell hath no fury like a God of War show delayed...
Kratos has been through hell and back — not just in the mega-successful PlayStation games, but in seeing his starring God of War franchise adapted for the small screen. But after a few turbulent months, it seems the Amazon Prime Video show’s development is back on track... and then some.
The adaptation of the long-running PlayStation series has a new writer, executive producer and showrunner in the shape of the impeccable Ronald D. Moore.
According to Deadline, he’s taking over from showrunner and executive producer Rafe Judkins and executive producers Hawk Ostby and Mark Fergus, who recently left the project.
Work from that original creative team had been relatively advanced, with “multiple scripts prior to the changeover” having been completed. But it's thought Moore is likely to wipe the slate clean and take the series in a new creative direction.
God-tier signing
Moore’s involvement with the God of War project sees him returning to work with Sony Pictures TV Studios, where he previously worked on Philip K. Dick’s Electric Dreams for Amazon Prime Video, Outlander for Starz, and For All Mankind for Apple TV+.
Those later two were mega hits, each with their own spin-off shows currently in development. And each has a piece of the God of War puzzle in their DNA — historical brutality in Outlander, and big-budget effects-driven show making with For All Mankind. With God of War’s mythological muscle flexing, monstrous cast and otherworldly historical settings, Moore has the experience needed to pull off an ambitious adaptation.
The bar is raised high now, too — game-to-TV adaptations have produced two bona-fide hits in recent years with HBO’s The Last of Us and Amazon Prime Video’s Fallout.
It’s a fine line to walk in order to serve fans and bring in a broader audience necessary to elevate viewing numbers. Moore will be joined on that quest by a key member of the God of War game franchise’s development team — Santa Monica Studio’s creative director Cory Barlog is still onboard as an executive producer, the man responsible for the game series’ most recent big hits on PS4 and PS5.
