‘God Of War’: Sony And Amazon Starting Over On Series After Departure Of EPs Rafe Judkins, Hawk Ostby & Mark Fergus

EXCLUSIVE: Sony Pictures TV and Amazon MGM Studios are staging a do-over on God of War, the series for Prime Video that’s based on PlayStation‘s hugely popular ancient mythology-themed video game.

Deadline has learned that showrunner/executive producer Rafe Judkins, along with EPs Hawk Ostby and Mark Fergus, have left the project after completing multiple scripts for the first season. The studio is apparently looking to move in a different creative direction, though one source told Deadline the trio’s scripts were praised by both Sony and Prime.

Sony’s plan is to hire a whole new writers room for the series that remains an important asset for Prime. Judkins is a major player for the streamer, too; he’s the showrunner on Wheel of Time. Judkins is also under an overall deal with Sony, where he will continue to focus on new development.

When first announced in December of 2022, God of War was billed as following Kratos, aka the God of War, who after exiling himself from his blood-soaked past in ancient Greece, hangs up his weapons forever in the Norse realm of Midgard. When his beloved wife dies, Kratos sets off on a dangerous journey with his estranged son to spread her ashes from the highest peak—his wife’s final wish. Kratos soon realizes the journey is an epic quest in disguise, one which will test the bonds between father and son, and force Kratos to battle new Gods and monsters for the fate of the world. 

The God of War franchise from Sony’s Santa Monica Studio spans a total of seven games across four PlayStation consoles. The action game series launched in 2005 on the PlayStation 2, with the first God of War. At the center is ex-Spartan warrior Kratos and his perilous journey to exact revenge on the Ares, the Greek God of War, after killing his loved ones under the deity’s influence. After becoming the ruthless God of War himself, Kratos finds himself constantly looking for a chance to change his fate.

Co-produced by Sony Pictures TV and MGM Amazon Studios in association with PlayStation Productions, God of War had been in the works at the streamer since March of 2022 when Deadline reported exclusively that Prime was in negotiations for the property.

Santa Monica Studio’s Cory Barlog and Yumi Yang remain EPs on God of War. Others are Asad Qizilbash, Carter Swan, Yumi Land and Vertigo’s Roy Lee.