Major news has emerged from the God Of War set. According to Deadline, Ryan Hurst (Sons Of Anarchy, Remember The Titans) is set to be recast after suffering an injury during production in June.
Amazon MGM Studios and Sony Pictures Television made the decision after extensive deliberation. Hurst had undergone a transformation, gaining 40 pounds of muscle to play the lead character of Kratos. Hurst reportedly tore his bicep while performing a stunt. The injury carries a recovery time of 4-6 months. After the injury, Hurst underwent surgery.
After the injury, production halted while executives decided how to move forward. The lengthy recovery time does not include the time it would take to regain his full strength. The total time for Hurst to be ready for action again could have been up to a year. His co-lead is a child actor, Callum Vinson (The Night Agent, Crystal Lake). His age complicated the decision further, as the rapidly changing appearance of adolescents could have rendered the previously shot footage unusable.
The production is aiming to begin prep for restarting production in mid-August and eyeing mid-October to begin shooting. Four episodes had reportedly been completed when production halted.
Recasting a lead actor due to injury is an extremely rare and devastating occurrence, for both the actor and the studio. The most recent example occurred on the set of the Kevin Durant drama Swagger. O’Shea Jackson (Straight Out Of Compton, Cocaine Bear) took over for Winston Duke (Black Panther, Us) in 2020 after Duke was injured early in production. In October 2020, Cowboy Bebop went on hiatus for seven to nine months after lead actor John Cho (Star Trek, Searching) suffered a knee injury. Due to Covid restrictions, the production resumed 11 months later with Cho in the lead.
God Of War received a back-to-back order, filming the first two seasons consecutively. The series is written, executive produced, and showran by Ronald D. Moore.
God Of War, based on the award-winning PlayStation game of the same name, follows Kratos and his son, Atreus, as they embark on a journey to mourn the passing of his late wife. Along the way, Kratos will teach his son how to deal with the immense power that comes with being a god, while Arteus teaches his father how to tap into his humanity.
In addition to Hurst and Vinson, other cast members include Ed Skrein (Deadpool, The Transporter Refueled) as Baldur, Mandy Patinkin (The Princess Bride, Homeland) as Odin, Max Parker (Love Sarah, Strictly Confidential) as Heimdall, Ólafur Darri Ólafsson (Severance, Trapped) as Thor, Teresa Palmer (Warm Bodies) as Sif, Alastair Duncan (The Batman, Castlevania: Nocturne) as Mimir, Jeff Gulka (The X-Files, Once Upon A Time) as Sindri, and Danny Woodburn (The Witcher, Seinfeld) as Brok.