After weeks of rumors, former WWE Champion and Hollywood star Dave Bautista has officially been cast as Kratosin Amazon's "God of War" series, which is expected to premiere late next year.Initially, the original series lead, Ryan Hurst, was going to portray Kratos in the show, but after tearing his bicep while performing a stunt on-set,Amazon MGM Studios and Sony Pictures Television made the decision to contact Bautista. Four episodes of "God of War" had been filmed before Hurst's injury, with all production being paused until a new lead was cast for the show. Following the announcement that Bautista would be replacing Hurst, production is expected to resume this upcoming October, but no footage from the first four episodes will be used going forward.Anybody who's played the iconic Playstation video game knows that taking on the role of Kratos will be physically demanding, leaving Bautista with just over a month to begin preparing for the show. However, the 57-year-old is no stranger to putting his body through physical punishment, especially in his role as Drax in the "Guardians of the Galaxy" franchise along with his time as a professional wrestler. Additionally, Bautista was recently on the set of "The Highlander," which required him to be in shape for his role of The Kurgan."God of War" originally began filming this past February in Vancouver, Canada, with executive producer and showrunner Ronald D. Moore intending to shoot the first two seasons back-to-back, which is reportedly still the plan despite Hurst's injury. "God of War" will be Bautista's biggest role in TV since he starred alongside Jason Mamoa in the Sci-Fi series "See," which ran from 2019-2022. In recent years, Bautista has also been part of the most popular movies of the decade, including "Glass Onion," and parts one and two of the "Dune" franchise.
