‘Amazon, Don’t Be Sorry. Be Better.’ – God of War Fans Aren’t Impressed by Live-Action Kratos and Atreus

· IGN

Fans are sharing their reactions to the first image of live-action Kratos and Atreus in the Prime Video God of War show…and they are not impressed.

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Those looking forward to the upcoming adaptation of a classic PlayStation franchise quickly flooded social media after Amazon and Sony released an early picture of Ryan Hurst (Kratos) and Callum Vinson (Atreus) in costume earlier today. What could have been a powerful reveal for some of the most iconic video game characters of all time has, instead, started with a whimper.

“Not to be the standard Twitter negative Nancy but something about this looks off, right?” another said. “Like I'm not being negative for no reason? I can’t even pinpoint what looks wrong.”

“Amazon, don't be sorry. Be better,” one Reddit user quipped.

Even some of the more positive reactions come with caveats. There are stories of both struggle and success in the history of live-action video game adaptations, and almost all of them begin with hesitation from fans. It’s something many are keeping in mind as they try to picture how the rest of the God of War cast will translate into a more realistic visual style.

“It’s too clean. That’s the off part,” one IGN reader commented. “He doesn’t look like a weathered warrior like the game looks and neither does his uniform. It just looks too clean and ‘new’ but that could be the lighting. We’ll have to wait and see.”

“The thing about adapting videogames that already look insanely realistic into live action media is that a part of them is inevitably gonna look like [a Saturday Night Live] skit,” one X/Twitter user said.

“It doesn’t even look that bad,” another said, “I just think it’s going to be extremely difficult to translate to live-action.”

Many are calling the outfits “cheap,” asking if the God of War Norse saga-inspired costumes seen today are truly what fans can expect from the final version of the show. There’s no denying this is an officially released image, but it’s worth noting it will probably be a while before the series premieres.

The God of War show still has no release date, and as others have pointed out, a finished episode of TV will look different from a single image. Hurst’s Kratos and Vinson’s Atreus may also come off better (or maybe even worse) once they’re seen in motion in Season 1. It’s a lesson comic book fans learned last year, when fans initially reacted somewhat negatively to the first image from the 2025 Superman movie before largely changing their tune after seeing star David Corenswet in action.

Still, the damage may already be done, as this poor first impression has triggered a wave of skepticism. Some have even gone as far as to compare live-action Kratos and Atreus to something created with generative AI. There is currently little to suggest artificial intelligence had a hand in producing this image, but that isn’t stopping fans from bringing the topic to the table.

“Not saying it is, but this looks like a high quality AI photo….why lol,” another IGN reader said. “Hopefully the first trailer looks more ‘real.’”

"I'm sorry, but this has the same uncanny look as AI generated images," another Reddit user added. "I know it's not, but still."

Hurst and Vinson are just two actors in a cast of actors who are also set to bring familiar characters to Prime Video subscribers in the future. Also included in the lineup are Ólafur Darri Ólafsson as Thor, Mandy Patinkin as Odin, Max Parker as Heimdall, and Teresa Palmer as Sif. In late January, Alastair Duncan was announced to reprise his role as Mimir, with franchise newcomers Danny Woodburn and Jeff Gulka set to play Brok and Sindri, respectively. Last week, we learned that Ed Skrein would portray Odin’s son and God of War (2018) antagonist, Baldur.

While we wait to see if fans will warm up to live-action Kratos, you can see more reactions below. You can also catch up with our July 2025 interview with showrunner Ronald D. Moore. Then be sure to check out other live-action versions of classic video game characters, including Lara Croft from Tomb Raider, Sweet Tooth from Twisted Metal, Link and Zelda from The Legend of Zelda, and Joel and Ellie from The Last of Us.

Michael Cripe is a freelance writer with IGN. He's best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).

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