David Jaffe, the creator of the "God of War" video games, expressed his disappointment with the first look of Amazon's upcoming live-action series adaptation, calling it a “dumb f***ing image.”
In his YouTube channel, Jaffe said he found the image "bad in so many ways", while adding he has no problems with the showrunner Ronald D. Moore's work. “I’m sure everybody’s trying real hard, but it’s so dumb,” Jaffe said. “But let’s be clear about something: two things can be true. This image is terrible, and it really is. We’ll talk about why in a minute. But Ron Moore is amazing—he’s the showrunner. This guy is extremely talented. I have no doubt the show will be great.”
He also clarified that he didn't have any problems with actor Ryan Hurst portraying the lead character Kratos but he wasn't so big on the idea of letting out an image of the actor in the same pose and expression as seen in the above image.
“Kratos in this pose with this expression, not the guy’s face, but this expression, he just looks stupid,” Jaffe explained. “If you’re going to reveal, to most people, a brand new character that you hope is going to carry your series, for the first time, and they’ve never really seen this before, and this is the way you introduce them?”
Adding further, Jaffe said, “Maybe that’s conscious. Maybe they’re like, ‘Well, what we really want to focus on is the father-son story. And if we focus on him being like, Spartan rage, and all that, maybe people are like, 'I don’t want to watch that show.' Ok maybe. But then, at that point, could you find a picture that doesn’t look like he’s shitting in the woods? Cause that’s what the picture looks like.”
The first look, featuring Hurst as Kratos and Callum Vinson as his son, was revealed by Amazon Prime on Feb. 27. Other cast members include Max Parker as Heimdall, Ólafur Darri Ólafsson as Thor, Mandy Patinkin as Odin, Alastair Duncan as Mimir, Danny Woodburn and Jeff Gulka as Brok and Sindri, and Ed Skrein as Baldur.
Frederick E.O. is involved as the director of at least the first two episodes. The adaptation was ordered for two seasons by the streaming giant. As per the official logline, "'God of War’ follows father and son Kratos and Atreus as they embark 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.” Moore is known for his work on "Battlestar Galactica" and "Outlander".
