Dave Bautista Shows Off Body Transformation to Play Kratos in ‘God of War’ Series: ‘Two More Months to Get to Where I Need to Be’

Dave Bautista is back in the gym and showing off his muscle gains to play the super-strong Greek hero Kratos in the upcoming adaptation of the “God of War” video game. The actor shared a video of himself flexing in the gym and revealed that he’s three weeks into his weight training regime, with two more months to go.

“Third week in to weight training again. Two more months to get to where I need to be. Like ridin’ a bike!” he wrote as he gave a very Kratos-inspired roar into the camera while music played.

Bautista officially signed on to play Kratos on Aug. 20, taking the reigns from Ryan Hurst after the original actor suffered an on-set injury and Prime Video recast the role. Hurst tore his bicep on set and needed surgery that would have delayed restarting production into 2027. Filming originally began in Vancouver back in February, and all the scenes with Hurst will have to be reshot with Bautista. Prime Video gave “God of War” a two-season order, with the two seasons set to shoot back-to-back.

The series will follow the story of the two most recent “God of War” games, in which Kratos must raise his ten-year old son Atreus (played by young actor Callum Vinson) while battling gods of the Norse pantheon. Per the logline, “Father and son Kratos and Atreus embark on a journey to spread the ashes of their wife and mother, Faye. Through their adventures, Kratos tries to teach his son to be a better god, while Atreus tries to teach his father how to be a better human.”

Bautista, a WWE veteran and mixed martial artist, is no stranger to playing large, muscular characters. He starred as Drax the Destroyer in several “Guardians of the Galaxy” and “Avengers” movies, and he’ll next appear in “Road House 2” and the “Highlander” reboot.