God Of War Fans Are All Saying The Same Thing About Ryan Hurst's Kratos Casting

• Television
• Fantasy Shows

Video game adaptations are the new craze in Hollywood. With superhero movies no longer being the sure-fire hits they once were, video games are a potential goldmine. We've seen shows like "Arcane" and "The Last of Us" get critical acclaim as well as become big ratings successes. On the big screen, the "Sonic the Hedgehog" trilogy is a bonafide financial hit while both the "Minecraft" and "Super Mario Bros." movies helped keep theaters afloat the past few years.

Perhaps the biggest challenge with video game adaptations is the issue of translating the source material. Unlike a book, where readers have to use their imaginations to picture what a character looks like, or comics, where the lack of sound means a character can sound like anyone, the majority of video games feature full performances. A character like Joel from "The Last of Us" or Nathan Drake in the "Uncharted" series are brought to life by people who emote and act, through performance capture or voiceover.

This is to say, it's hard to please fans when casting a video game character in a movie adaptation. And yet, "God of War" fans are all saying the same thing about Ryan Hurst being cast as Kratos in the upcoming live-action adaptation of the popular video game series.

In the comments section on Reddit, fans are surprised to see someone who already appears in the "God of War" games cast in the live-action show, especially since Hurst played a different character in the game. Meanwhile, those familiar with Hurst's roles in shows like "Sons of Anarchy" seem excited that he will bring the "sad dad energy" he brought to Opie in that show to Kratos in the upcoming TV show.

Fans agree Ryan Hurst is a good choice to play Kratos

Much like "The Last of Us," "God of War" utilizes performance capture for its characters. This means that Ryan Hurst is not only the voice of Thor in the games, but he does a full performance of the character. Now, he's trading the hammer for blades as Hurst defies every prediction and fancast list.

It's not a bad idea to have someone familiar with the character, the world, and the source material as the lead of the live-action adaptation. Hurst has been involved with the games for a few years, so he knows and cares about it. He even has a similar vocal range to the actor who plays Kratos in the video games.

More importantly, he has the screen presence and the commanding voice to give justice to Kratos. We see this in his role as Opie in "Sons of Anarchy," a character that can be scary at times but who's also deeply vulnerable when it comes to his kids. Given that Ronald D. Moore's "God of War" TV series will focus on Kratos' relationship with his son, Hurst is a natural pick to play this version of the character.

While fans are generally enthusiastic about the casting news, many are jokingly pointing out the weirdness of hearing a voice they're already familiar with from the game in another role. As one fan pointed out on Reddit, if Hurst, who played Thor, can be Kratos, then could Christopher Judge (Kratos) play Thor in a later season?

We don't know much about the "God of War" live-action adaptation, but this casting news is a promising start.