EXCLUSIVE: PlayStation’s flagship adventure game God of War is heading to TV. Prime Video is in talks for a live-action series based on the hugely popular ancient mythology-themed game, sources say.
I heard the series adaptation comes from The Expanse creators/executive producers Mark Fergus and Hawke Ostby and The Wheel of Time executive producer/showrunner Rafe Judkins, as well as Sony Pictures Television and PlayStation Productions, who collaborate on all series based on games for PlayStation. Representatives from Sony and Amazon Studios, who will likely be co-producing, did not comment.
This would mark the last major event for a television series based on the popular video game title in the hot streaming market for gaming IPs. Peacock has just received another SPT/PlayStation property, Twisted Metal, with a series order starring Anthony Mackie. HBO is preparing to release the acclaimed live-action series for the PlayStation “The Last of Us” with Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey in the lead roles. Netflix is working on a Resident Evil series, and Paramount+ is set to debut Halo.
Amazon Studios has been especially aggressive in the arena. This is Killer Films’ upcoming Fallout series starring Walton Goggins; developing an adaptation of the Mass Effect series; and just closed a first look deal with dj2 Entertainment to develop TV series based on gaming intellectual property.
The God of War series from Sony’s Santa Monica studio includes a total of seven games for four PlayStation consoles. The action game series was launched in 2005 on the PlayStation 2 along with the first God of War. In the center is the former Spartan warrior Kratos and his perilous journey to exact revenge on Ares, the Greek god of war, after killing his loved ones under the deity’s influence. Having become a ruthless god of war, Kratos is constantly looking for a chance to change his fate.
After several games on various PlayStation consoles, including PS3 and PSP handheld, Santa Monica Studio breathed new life into the franchise with the release of a 2018 game for PlayStation 4. In it, Kratos travels to the Scandinavian wilds, where he gets a second chance to become a father. with his son Atreus. The game received numerous awards at the Game Awards 2018, including Game of the Year.
The eighth installment of God of War, God of War: Ragnorok, is in development for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 and should be released this year.
Fergus and Ostby shared an Oscar nomination for co-writing Child of Man and also co-wrote Iron Man, which launched Marvel Studios’ box office dominance. Judkins also has ties to Marvel; he was a writer-producer on ABC’s Agents of SHIELD.
Alexandra Del Rosario contributed to this report.