God Of War Fans Obsessed With Nick Offerman Playing Kratos

As Sony Santa Monica gears up for God of War: Ragnarok, gaming fans are obsessed with Parks and Recs' Nick Offerman playing Kratos in live-action.

06th Jun 2022 10:22

Sony Santa Monica Studios | NBC

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Ron Swanson as the Ghost of Sparta? Consider us sold. In a case of almost perfect casting, fans want the legend that is Nick Offerman to paint himself white, stick some tattoos on his face, and play the gaming giant that is God of War's Kratos.

Since 2005, Sony has been dishing out God of War games, as the muscular might of Kratos has made him an icon of the video game community. With continued plans for a live-action God of War movie, some people can't get the idea of Offerman in the title role out of their minds.

Although God of War has become a gaming staple, the franchise took a massive leap of faith with 2018's soft reboot (that was also titled God of War). Moving Kratos to Norse mythology and swapping his Blades of Chaos for the Leviathan Axe was a big risk, however, it was one that paid off in spades. With God of War becoming one of the best-selling PS4 games of all time, it rightly led to the upcoming God of War: Ragnarok.

Why do fans want Nick Offerman to play Kratos?

The bizarre incident of Offerman being pitched as Kratos came about when the Parks and Recreation star reshared a snap of himself sporting a bald head and bushy beard. The replies and retweets soon flooded in, with everyone noting his uncanny resemblance to Kratos. From there, it was a free-for-all as even God of War Director Cory Barlog got in on the action and agreed Offerman would be perfect for the part. Considering this isn't the first time we've seen the bald-headed Offerman, it's reignited previous calls for him to play Kratos. To be honest, we're still totally here for it.

Even though Sony hasn't started officially working on the God of War movie (that we know of), it didn't stop others petitioning the studio to cast Offerman as Kratos. He'd definitely fit the bill, and with Pedro Pascal busy stealing roles in everything in The Mandalorian to The Last of Us, it might be nice to give someone else a chance to play a part.

Fan casting Kratos is nothing new, and in the past, we've seen Vin Diesel, Dominic Purcell, and (obviously) Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson picked by fans. Elsewhere, some have championed Gerard Butler to relive his 300 days to play Kratos in live-action. If Sony wants to go down the more mature route and tell the story of 2018's God of War, we can think of no one better than Offerman. 

Could Nick Offerman play Kratos?

When it comes to Offerman actually playing Kratos, it's anyone's guess whether this could actually happen. The last we heard, Sony was toying with the idea of an R-rated God of War movie. Although a live-action outing for Kratos has been pitched since the very first game came out in 2005, Spartacus' Steven DeKnight threw around the idea of a bloody silver screen slaughterfest back in 2018. Since then, there's been no development on where a live-action God of War is up to, meaning the whole thing is still a pipe dream.

Video game movies don't exactly have the best track record, and while cartoon capers like Detective Pikachu and Sonic the Hedgehog are record-breaking successes, who could forget Assassin's CreedPrince of Persia, and even the lacklustre Tomb Raider with Alicia Vikander? It's a sad state of affairs when one of the best video game movie franchises is the Milla Jovovich-led Resident Evil.

Even as Sony pushes forward with its long-awaited Uncharted movie, the future of God of War could be on the small screen. Just like HBO's The Last of Us and the new Resident Evil reboot, telling Kratos' story in episodic form sounds like a winner to us.

For the time being, we're left wondering what Nick Offerman would be like as Kratos and whether Kratos' surname really could be Swanson? As we continue to mull that over, expect Offerman to start trending on Twitter the moment Sony starts casting.

Tom Chapman

About The Author

Tom Chapman

Tom is Trending News Editor at GGRecon, with an NCTJ qualification in Broadcast Journalism and over seven years of experience writing about film, gaming, and television. With bylines at IGN, Digital Spy, Den of Geek, and more, Tom’s love of horror means he's well-versed in all things Resident Evil, with aspirations to be the next Chris Redfield.

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