Dave Bautista Shows Off Physical Transformation Ahead of ‘God of War’ Series

Dave Bautista is clearly taking his training for his role as Kratos in Prime Video‘s God of War series very seriously.

The actor took to Instagram on Wednesday to show off his physical transformation as he prepares to play the fierce Spartan warrior in the live-action adaptation of the popular video game franchise.

In the video, Bautista can be seen flexing his muscles while letting out a scream. “3rd week in to weight training again. 2 more months to get to where I need to be. Like ridin a bike! LFG!” he wrote in the post’s caption.

A former WWE star, Bautista has slimmed down from the powerhouse physique he was famed for during his wrestling days. For recent film roles such as The Killer’s Game, Trap House and The Wrecking Crew, Bautista looked muscular but notably slimmer than he did for his acting breakout role of Drax the Destroyer in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But he now appears to be bulking up again for God of War.

Last month, it was revealed that the Guardians of the Galaxy star would be replacing Ryan Hurst in the show’s lead role after the latter tore a bicep while performing a stunt on set.

Taking on the role of Kratos, Bautista joins castmembers Callum Vinson, Mandy Patinkin, Ed Skrein, Max Parker, Ólafur Darri Ólafsson, Teresa Palmer, Alastair Duncan, Jeff Gulka and Danny Woodburn.

The series “follows father and son Kratos and Atreus as they 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,” according to the logline. The show will be mostly based on the franchise’s two most recent installments, which introduced Atreus.

God of War, which sees Ronald D. Moore in the showrunner chair, is scheduled to return to production in Vancouver this fall.