Video games have influenced and been adapted for the big screen and television. Major franchises have seen success, such as SEGA’s Alien: Invasion and Sonic the Hedgehog or Nintendo’s Pokémon and Super Mario Bros. The hands-on control of the story draws players in with urgency. They are able to explore the world at their own volition, understanding its mechanics and solving its problems through trial and error. The vicarious entertainment of a game is similar to watching a film. Both experiences let the imagination run free and keeps one’s attention from beginning to end. The only difference is the sense of direction and engagement, how passive and active, the viewer or player has and feels.

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God of War follows a revisionist Greek mythology of the fierce Spartan warrior, Kratos. He was tricked into killing his family by his former master, the Greek God of War, Ares. Kratos avenges his family and kills Ares, taking on the mantle of the God of War. Throughout the series, Kratos hunts the other Olympian gods, bringing death and destruction wherever he goes. Now that the self-made god has his own TV show, only a select few can match his anger and bloodshed.

Arnold Vosloo

     Universal Pictures

Arnold Vosloo played the Egyptian high priest Imhotep in the 1999 remake of the 1932 classic Universal Monster film The Mummy. He has an affair with a pharaoh’s mistress, leading to his death by confinement in a sarcophagus filled with flesh-eating scarab beetles. If anyone had a reason for revenge, it would be Imhotep. Vosloo in the role has a do-or-die attitude and never compromises with his enemies. His belief in the afterlife to reunite with his lover earns him sympathy, but his manipulation of the dark arts makes him a villain that viewers love to hate.

Billy Zane

     Paramount Pictures

Billy Zane played Caledon Hockley in the 1997 romance disaster film Titanic. Hockley is a man who bears a name that’s contemptible and a face in need of a punch. To round out his bad reputation, he chases down his (ex) fiancé, gun in hand, and later pretends to be a lost child’s father to access the ship’s lifeboats and save his own life. “By any means necessary” is the greedy man’s motto, a malevolence that favors the battle and brutality of a Greek god.

Bruce Willis

     20th Century Fox

Bruce Willis is best known as the NYPD detective John McClane from the Die Hard film series, stopping terrorist threats as a one-man army. If he were a one-man army working for himself, the tables would turn and stay turned. His brushes with death are remarkable with strokes of luck that can’t be ignored. Willis could go toe-to-toe with any of the gods.

Dean Norris

     Sony Pictures Television

Dean Norris starred in the crime drama TV shows Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul as DEA agent Hank Schrader. He is the brother-in-law of Walter White, a schoolteacher turned drug lord who goes by the name of Heisenberg. Family ties are being jeopardized and close to being cut loose in the series, a characteristic Norris could reverse engineer and bring to the role of Kratos.

Dwayne Johnson

     Warner Bros. Pictures

The former WWE superstar Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has come a long way from wrestling, but his persona is still alive. Johnson has also starred in video game adapted films, such as Doom and Rampage. With heroic roles like Hercules and Black Adam, the actor-wrestler has the stage presence and physique to become the God of War.

Gerard Butler

     Warner Bros. Pictures

Gerard Butler is no stranger to action thrillers and fantasy dramas. He has played Attila the Hun and Count Dracula in Attila and Dracula 2000 respectively. His most famous role was as the Spartan king Leonidas I in the historical fantasy graphic novel adaptation of 300. Butler is a natural fit for Kratos already.

Jason Momoa

     Warner Bros. Television

Hawaiian beefcake Jason Momoa has played brooding and brutish figures. He was Khal Drago, the Genghis Khan like leader of the nomadic Dothraki in the HBO fantasy series Game of Thrones. He was the underwater superhero Aquaman in Justice League, a role Momoa said was the closest he’s come to playing himself. Momoa could have the best of both worlds, playing the God of War.

Liev Schreiber

Liev Schriber has a subtle, grizzled charm that speaks volumes. His role as Sabretooth in X-Men Origins: Wolverine shows off his animosity. Similar to Kratos’ family tragedy, the actor had been kidnapped by both his parents due to their custody battles and later divorce. Schreiber could have life imitate art in the God of War adaptation.

Mark Strong

Mark Strong likes to play antagonists in films, to get behind the psychology and purpose of his characters. He was almost given the part for Anton Chigurh in No Country for Old Men, but went on to demonstrate his dark, foreboding presence as GID director, Hani Salaam in Body of Lies. Strong’s work as the magical scientist Dr. Thaddeus Sivana in Shazam! continues to prove his commitment to the bad guy role.

Vincent D’Onofrio

     Netflix

Vincent D’Onofrio might be recognized as Private Leonard “Gomer Pyle” Lawrence from Full Metal Jacket or Edgar the Bug from Men in Black. His portrayal of crime boss Wilson Fisk, alias Kingpin, in the Marvel television series Daredevil is ruthless and haunting. D’Onofrio has a hunger and growl in his voice that he can bring to the Kratos character.