Dave Bautista gains 20 pounds of muscle for Kratos in Prime Video's God of War series

Dave Bautista has gained 20 pounds of muscle to play Kratos in Prime Video's God of War series, posting a video on his Instagram story with the words "Gained 20 lbs for GOW" and a "250" sticker showing his weight, Variety reported. That is about 9 kg gained, taking him to roughly 113 kg. He wore a God of War T-shirt in the clip.

Two months ago the former wrestler said he had started weight training again but still had time "to get to where I need to be."

Why Bautista is Kratos now

Bautista was not the first choice. Ryan Hurst was cast as Kratos but tore his bicep on set; the surgery would have pushed production into 2027, so Prime Video replaced him. Bautista signed on in August. Filming had begun in Vancouver in February, which means every scene shot with Hurst has to be reshot with Bautista.

What the show is about

The series adapts the two most recent God of War games, set in Norse mythology, rather than the earlier Greek ones. Kratos raises his ten-year-old son Atreus, played by Callum Vinson, while fighting the gods of the Norse pantheon. The official logline: father and son set out to spread the ashes of Faye, Kratos's wife and Atreus's mother, as Kratos tries to teach his son to be a better god and Atreus tries to teach his father to be a better human.

Prime Video has ordered two seasons, to be filmed back to back. No release date has been announced.

Watching in Pakistan

God of War will stream on Prime Video, which is available in Pakistan with a local subscription.

Bautista's other films include My Spy, Knock at the Cabin and The Wrecking Crew. He will next be seen in Road House 2 and the Highlander reboot.