Ryan Hurst will reportedly be replaced in the lead role of God of War following a serious on-set injury that took place after a stunt went wrong.
The 50-year-old actor, known for his work in The Walking Dead and Sons of Anarchy, was set to play the hulking Spartan warrior Kratos in the video game adaptation by Prime Video, with writer, executive producer and showrunner Ronald D. Moore at the helm.
But according to TMZ, Hurst tore his bicep on-set while performing a stunt. He has reportedly undergone surgery and is now recovering while God of War paused production immediately after the incident and remains in hiatus.
However, according to Deadline, Hurst’s recovery will extend beyond what the production shooting schedule is able to accommodate.
The publication estimates that serious bicep tear injuries can take between four to six months to heal and most people who suffer the injury will not return to their full strength for up to a year.
Considering the physicality that the role of Kratos demands, Hurst may not be able to meet those demands until 2027 even with rehabilitation.
Deadline cited sources as saying that while Hurst’s full recovery is a priority, the production shooting schedule is unable to accommodate the long period it will take.
The show, which has been commissioned for two series, began filming in February in Vancouver, with the publication reporting that four episodes had been fully filmed when Hurst’s injury occurred.
A reshoot of the completed episodes will now have to take place with a new lead actor as Kratos as co-lead Callum Vinson, a child actor playing Atreus, will grow up too quickly for the production to use existing footage.
Vinson, 12, is best known for his roles in Chucky as Henry Collins and in Netflix’s The Night Agent.
While the recasting is undoubtedly a setback, Hurst is currently in cinemas across the world as Christopher Nolan’s highly anticipated Odyssey hits the screens, in which the actor plays Mentor.
The video game God of War was first released for PlayStation 2 in 2005, following Kratos as he seeks revenge against the Olympian gods after he was manipulated into killing his family.
The earlier games are based on Greek mythology, whilst as the series grew and evolved, it became based on Norse mythology, with later games taking Kratos and his son, Atreus, on a path to redefine their destinies.
Amazon announced the live-action series in 2022, which will follow Kratos and Atreus on a journey to spread the ashes of their wife and mother, Faye. Through their adventures, Kratos tries to teach his son to be a better god, while Atreus tries to teach his father how to be a better human.
