Amazon's God of War series just hit the kind of setback no production plans for: its Kratos, Ryan Hurst, tore a bicep performing a stunt and the show is recasting the role rather than waiting for him to heal.

What Happened

Hurst, best known as Sons of Anarchy's Opie, was injured on set in late June and has undergone surgery, according to Deadline, which broke the story. A serious bicep tear typically needs four to six months of recovery before returning to physical work, and up to a year for full strength: longer than the production schedule could absorb. Prime Video's call: recast, reshoot, keep moving.

Kratos swings the Blades of Chaos in God of War Ragnarok, the games the series adapts. Screenshot: Sony Interactive Entertainment.

The cost is not small. Four of the first season's ten episodes were already in the can and will now be largely reshot with the new lead. Preparations for the restart begin in August, with cameras rolling again in mid-October. No replacement has been named yet.

The series itself is a big swing: a two-season order from Prime Video with Ronald D. Moore (Battlestar Galactica, Outlander) as showrunner, Callum Vinson as Atreus, and a supporting cast that includes Mandy Patinkin as Odin and Olafur Darri Olafsson as Thor. The story adapts the 2018 game: Kratos and Atreus carrying Faye's ashes to the highest peak in all the realms.

God of War Ragnarok key art with Kratos and Atreus. Image: Sony Interactive Entertainment.

Our Take

First, the human part: a torn bicep is a rotten injury for an actor whose job description is "credibly throw an axe", and we wish Hurst a clean recovery. As for the show, recasting four episodes deep is expensive, but it is also the strongest signal yet that Amazon is serious about this one. Studios quietly shelve adaptations in this situation; they do not schedule reshoots. The boy will have to wait a little longer.