Ryan Hurst loses God of War lead role after on-set bicep injury

Prime Video’s live-action God of War series has recast its lead after star Ryan Hurst tore his bicep performing a stunt in late June, forcing a production pause that studios say made recasting unavoidable.

TL;DR

• Hurst tore his bicep filming a stunt in Vancouver in late June and needed surgery.
• Sony Pictures Television and Amazon MGM Studios have opted to recast Kratos rather than wait out his recovery.
• Four episodes were already complete when the injury happened; those will now be reshot.
• Production is targeting a mid-October restart with a new lead.

What happened on set

Hurst, best known for Sons of Anarchy, was cast as Kratos at the start of the year and had been filming his own stunts for the physically demanding role. According to Deadline, the tear happened while he was performing a stunt sequence, and the studios paused filming immediately afterward.

Bicep tears of this kind typically require four to six months to heal, with full recovery closer to a year, a timeline the two-season shoot could not accommodate, according to a report from The Hollywood Reporter.

Why the studios chose to recast

Sony Pictures Television and Amazon MGM had reportedly hoped to have Hurst back on set by mid-August, but the physical demands of playing Kratos meant he likely needed longer than a standard recovery window, according to a report from Engadget. The production has a two-season commitment and was already shooting back-to-back, leaving little room to wait.

Cast and crew were told of the recasting decision last Thursday, according to a source cited by Variety. Four completed episodes will now be reshot with a new lead, a costly step given how far along filming had progressed.

The production so far

Showrunner Ronald D. Moore, known for Battlestar Galactica, has been filming the series in Vancouver since February. Frederick E.O. Toye directs the first two episodes. The show adapts Sony’s 2019 reboot of the God of War games, following an older Kratos and his son Atreus as they carry his wife’s ashes north.

Hurst had a direct link to the source material, having voiced Thor in God of War Ragnarök. He reportedly gained 40 pounds of muscle for the role. His young co-star, Callum Vinson, plays Atreus.

UK release and casting notes

For UK viewers, God of War remains a Prime Video exclusive with no confirmed premiere date, though the show had been tracking toward a 2027 debut before the injury. The delay caused by reshoots may push that window further back, though neither studio has issued a revised date.

The setback lands the same week Hurst appears in Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, which opened in cinemas on Friday.

Neither Prime Video nor representatives for Hurst have commented publicly beyond the studios’ statements to trade outlets.

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Reported from publicly available interviews and verified press sources. Last reviewed 19 July 2026.