When the news broke that Guardians of the Galaxy star Dave Bautista had taken over the role of Kratos from Ryan Hurst in Prime Video's God of War TV series, the reaction was largely very positive.
However, there were also concerns about him playing the hulking Spartan, given that he's no longer the behemoth fans remember from his professional wrestling career and in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Well, those fears have now been fully laid to rest.
Taking to Instagram (via SFFGazette.com), Bautista confirmed that he's back in training and bulking up to play Kratos. "3rd week into weight training again," he captioned the video. "2 more months to get to where I need to be. Like ridin a bike! LFG."
With that, Bautista removed his shirt to show off his impressive physique, making it clear that he'll be more than ready to do right by the iconic PlayStation character on screen. Many feel that Bautista is a huge upgrade over Hurst, and this video proves that, beyond his acting talent, the Dune star also looks perfect for the part.
Hurst was forced to walk away from God of War after a bicep tear. However, there's been speculation that the negative backlash to that first-look photo might have played a role in Amazon deciding to recast Kratos.
Bautista shocked everyone in 2024 by revealing a new, slimmed-down frame. The actor, who went by "The Animal" in WWE, later explained that it was a conscious decision for his acting career as he looked to tackle more than the expected action roles.
"I started trimming down because I got really big for a role. Uncomfortably big," Bautista said at the time. "For 'Knock at the Cabin,' I got really big. I was around 315 pounds. I put the weight on really fast, and I put on an uncomfortable amount of weight, and it took forever to shed it."
"The more I trimmed down, the better I looked on camera and the better I looked next to other actors," he explained. "I’m still a large human being. At 6’4 and 240 pounds next to your typical actor, I look like a gorilla, and it’s distracting. I’ll probably lose a few more pounds. I’m just killing myself to be this trim. I’m training hard."
God of War, which has received a two-season order, follows father and son Kratos and Atreus as they embark on a journey to spread the ashes of their wife and mother, Faye. Through their adventures, Kratos tries to teach his son to be a better god, while Atreus tries to teach his father how to be a better human.
The cast is led by Dave Bautista as Kratos and Callum Vinson as Atreus, with Ed Skrein as Baldur, Max Parker as Heimdall, Ólafur Darri Ólafsson as Thor, Mandy Patinkin as Odin, Alastair Duncan as Mimir, Jeff Gulka as Sindri, Danny Woodburn as Brok, and Teresa Palmer as Sif.
God of War is co-produced by Sony Pictures Television and Amazon MGM Studios in association with PlayStation Productions and Tall Ship Productions. Ronald D. Moore serves as showrunner, executive producer, and writer.
Additional executive producers include Maril Davis, Cory Barlog, Naren Shankar, Matthew Graham, Asad Qizilbash, Jeff Ketcham, Hermen Hulst, Roy Lee, and Brad Van Arragon. Joe Menosky, Marc Bernardin, Tania Lotia, and Ben McGinnis serve as co-executive producers on the series.
God of War was expected to premiere on Prime Video in 2027, but could shift to 2028 after switching out its lead star.