Netflix’s The Witcher is approaching its grand finale, but Amazon is all set up with a spiritual replacement. Based on the book series and video game franchise, The Witcher premiered its first season in 2019 and was a quick success with general audiences. Critics were a bit less impressed, but the social hype was more than enough for Netflix to renew the series. Unfortunately, things started to fall apart from that point forward. Critics were happier with The Witcher season 2, but fans of Andrzej Sapkowski’s original book series and the beloved games were left disappointed.
Two more seasons of The Witcher continued that divisive trend, but after recastings and delays, this Netflix series was confirmed for a fifth and final installment. While filming is completed, The Witcher season 5 isn’t expected to premiere until sometime near the end of 2027. Regardless of the split public outlook on this fantasy series, it will be tough to see a fantasy show of this kind come to a close. Franchises like The Lord of the Rings and Game of Thrones are fantastic, but the comedy and video game-style violence of The Witcher remains rather unique.
Thankfully, by the time The Witcher ends in 2027, Prime Video should have its God of War TV show just about ready to go. This is another video game franchise—one full of complex lore, powerfully emotional storytelling, and a vast mix of mythological inspiration. God of War has plenty of monster hunting, a unique and complex parent-child relationship, and the TV adaptation is expected to be of a similar budget as The Witcher. Overall, Prime Video’s upcoming fantasy show should be a more than appropriate successor.
Prime Video’s God Of War Is A Chance To Redeem Fantasy Video Game Adaptations
God of War feels like a natural next step after The Witcher‘s conclusion, but the comparison here is complicated given the general outlook on Netflix’s series. The Witcher is another in a long line of divisive fantasy video game adaptations, so the hope is naturally that God of War will be a significant improvement. Of course, it’s a tall order, regardless, since these sorts of projects are rarely as successful or widely accepted as their creators often hope.
Video game adaptations like Fallout and The Last of Us quickly climbed to the top of the genre, demonstrating once and for all that these sorts of shows can be successful, even among fans of the original games. However, movies or series that attempt to bring the traditional fantasy elements of their source to live action often fall flat. The trouble tends to be that video game canon is even less respected than that of books or even anime. The adaptation process is more challenging, and it’s difficult for screenwriters and showrunners to resist the urge to make significant changes.
This is where The Witcher went wrong. In this case, it should have been relatively easy to create a book- and video-game-faithful adaptation. While season 4 came close to achieving this, seasons 2 (especially) and 3 went their own way. Though unconfirmed, it’s rumored that this is why actor Henry Cavill decided to leave his leading role, making recasting unavoidable. So long as God of War learns a lesson here, that same sort of controversy shouldn’t happen. Of course, some troubles are out of anyone’s control.
God Of War Is Already Following A Divisive The Witcher Trend
The Witcher had a good start, but the various obstacles both in and out of world made any continued success nearly impossible. There is a lot that God of War can learn in this regard, but not every trouble from Netflix’s fantasy show can be avoided. As it is, Prime Video’s upcoming series is already being plagued by the need for recastings, as star Ryan Hurst suffered an injury several months into filming. Showrunner Ronald D. Moore (via Deadline) has reportedly decided that he must move on. A new actor will be selected.
Dave Bautista is reportedly being considered to replace Hurst as Kratos.
Prime Video already released an early look at Hurst in his full costume as Kratos, so the last-minute change here can’t avoid public scrutiny. Still, God of War has an advantage over The Witcher, at least, since this recasting isn’t happening after the show has already premiered. Of course, Hurst’s image immediately inspired criticism, and with a recasting so early in the game, all eyes will be on God of War in search of further signs of weakness. In this sense, Prime Video’s newest fantasy show could be a successor to The Witcher in more ways than one.
