PlayStation gives first glimpse of live-action Kratos… kinda

How did we get here?

Following some rumours earlier this year that Prime Video was in talks with Sony to produce a live-action God of War TV series, fan communities have been rife with speculation on who could portray Kratos.

Thanks to an oddly casted teaser for the upcoming God of War Ragnarok, we’ve seen our first glimpse of what a live-action Kratos might look like… and it’s Ben Stiller for some reason.

While PlayStation is no stranger to questionably relevant marketing — see Rick and Morty give their pitch for the game — this one does hit a little different.

The newest teaser shows Stiller cosplaying everyone’s favourite surly father figure while he gives God of War themed parent-child counselling to John Travolta, LeBron James and their thoroughly embarrassed kids.

To prove to you (and myself) that this isn’t some sort of hype induced fever dream I’ve conjured up during the agonising wait, here it is.

This definitely expensive, possibly effective piece of marketing comes hot on the heels of an announcement that 2018’s God of War has sold over 23 million copies worldwide. That info was published as part of Sony’s latest marketing report along with their forecasts for God of War Ragnarok, which they expect to do similar numbers.

I can’t say whether recruiting the likes of Stiller, Travolta and LeBron will help in that pursuit but the recent push of behind the scenes content may get it there. They’re almost certainly not involved with that Prime Video endeavour, just for the record.

God of War Ragnarok is set to release on 9 November for PS4 and PS5.

God of War Ragnarok 9 November 2022 PS4, PS5   Buy on Amazon: PS4, PS5