The First God Of War TV Series Image Has Everyone Saying The Same Thing

With roots in Greek and Norse mythology, the "God of War" franchise has long been a video game series worthy of a movie or TV adaptation. It's finally coming to fruition thanks to Amazon Prime Video adapting 2018's "God of War," which sees Kratos and his son, Atreus, embarking on an epic quest to spread Kratos' deceased wife's ashes on the highest point of the nine realms. We have our first look at the new TV series with Ryan Hurst as Kratos and Callum Vinson as Atreus, so check out our video above to learn more about what fans are saying. 

By and large, the response is pretty negative. On X, @jdoxpears posted at the official "God of War" account, "This looks so bad, like a cosplay shot rather than a series." @JosiahRises also pointed out how there's something cheap about the whole aesthetic: "Not gonna lie I laughed at how bad this looks. This looks like a fan film where they got some guy off the street to play Kratos."

Granted, it's only a single image, and the costumes could look a lot better in action. Still, some were excited at the sneak peek, like @G_Statistics: "Father and son vibes already hitting different. Hurst looks solid as Kratos, hope they nail the emotional side like the game did." It's also worth noting that the picture commemorates the beginning of production, so there's still plenty to be done, and skeptics might be more impressed when they can actually see Hurst and Vinson performing. 

Despite playing Thor in "God of War: Ragnarök," Ryan Hurst was always going to be a tough sell for Kratos since so many of the game's fans wanted Christopher Judge, who voices Kratos in the games, to play him in live-action, too. Many people online also suggested that AI was used to create or at least enhance that first image. A Reddit thread of folks discussing the image, while sharing many of the same sentiments expressed on X, also included comments like this from u/vampyrialis: "This looks like AI cosplay attempt....kratos need to bulk up."

While many were quick to criticize Hurst's appearance, others are wary of Amazon's "God of War" series for another reason. 2018's "God of War" is technically the eighth installment in the series, which began with 2005's "God of War." The first seven games deal with Greek mythology and focus on hack-and-slash combat, while the 2018 game has more of an action-adventure vibe with a greater emphasis on storytelling and characterization within the realm of Norse mythology. While you can play 2018's "God of War" and understand what's going on just fine, hardcore fans may be justifiably worried if the Amazon show will ignore all the Greek aspects of Kratos' backstory.

It's a lot of discussion for a single image, and for all we know, "God of War" could still become one of the best fantasy TV shows of all time. In the meantime, if you want to hear more fans' reactions, click on the video above.