By Jacob Miller | Mar 03, 2026
As has been determined, Amazon's adaptation of the God of War series will draw multiple elements from Santa Monica Studio's 2018 reboot, and is also expected to take substantial portions of its sequel (God of War Ragnarök) into account in its story and overall character structure. Along with this adaptation, Amazon's God of War series will be one of the streaming platform's largest adaptations of video games to date, and excitement and hype for it has been building steadily since the first news about production has been released.David Jaffe's Raw Response
Jaffe posted a video to his YouTube channel on February 28, 2026 where he gave his opinion on the God of War image. He is known for being outspoken and did not disappoint here, as he shared his opinion that this particular promotional image of Ryan Hurst as Kratos was "terrible," with particular negative comments focused on this advertisement choice.
Jaffe was particularly unimpressed with Hurst's pose and expression used in this image, and felt that it made Kratos look awkward and lacking intimidation. Prior to Jaffe making this negative assessment of Hurst's pose and expression, there were also a number of other fans that had mentioned comments about Hurst's image, more specifically his beard. Therefore Jaffe's comments continued to build on this already heated discussion amongst fans online.
While Jaffe made his comments about the promotional image of Ryan Hurst as Kratos, he also made it clear that he was only disappointed with his critique of this image and not the overall God of War production team's talent level or quality of work.
Trust in Ron Moore's Creative Vision
Even though Jaffe made a negative review of the first image of Kratos (Hurst), he did expressed faith in the creative talent behind God of War. Jaffe commented that he thought that show runner Ronald D. Moore was "awesome" and "a juggernaut of awesomeness." Jaffe is "absolutely" sure that this will be a very good show.
Moore has had past television production experience as the show runner, or one of the lead creative forces, behind numerous critically acclaimed television shows, including the series Star Trek: The Next Generation, Battlestar Galactica , Outlander and For All Mankind. Because of Moore's successful past history with both science fiction and character-driven television projects, it has instilled many fans with confidence in the creative people behind the adaptation of God of War.
With Moore's involvement with this adaptation, many fans are hopeful and optimistic that the God of War series will successfully replicate the same level of emotional depth and mythological scale that has become the hallmark for all versions of the God of War series, including the most recent version.
Mixed Reactions to the Reveal
While the majority of fan's response towards the promotion image of Ryan Hurst as Kratos has been both mixed and curious (not dismissive), any and all major cast selections, including Kratos, of a live action adaptation of a video game character will certainly be scrutinized due to the nature of adapting a highly stylized video game character into a real live action character.
While Jaffe's review of the God of War promotional image will certainly lead to numerous articles being written, Jaffe's opinions and comments do not necessarily represent the greater opinion and feeling of all fans. Many will have a desire to see how the proposed series will be portrayed and the father-son relationship between Kratos and Atreus, which is a major part of the success of the 2018 version of the God of War video game series.
As the production continues to progress, and more trailers and videos become available, all fans will have a better understanding of Amazon's vision for the project. In addition, overall, the debates regarding the release of the first images from the God of War promotional campaign have increased the overall interest towards what will undoubtedly become one of the most widely watched adaptations through Amazon.
