God of War might have found its replacement after the shock departure of lead star Ryan Hurst.

Sons of Anarchy and Walking Dead actor Hurst, 50, was forced to quit the forthcoming series after tearing a bicep while performing a stunt on set in late June, four months into the shoot. His injury required surgery followed by a long recovery.

God of War paused production immediately following the incident and a decision was made to recast the role of Kratos, with prep expected to begin in mid-August.

Deadline now claims that Dave Bautista, the 57-year-old former professional wrestler turned Guardians of the Galaxy and Dune movie star, is being circled for the role.

Hurst, who can currently be seen in Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, would have likely needed up to a year for it to be deemed safe for him to perform the action scenes required for the series. He had already filmed four episodes, which will now reportedly be reshot with a new star.

The outlet claims that producers think Bautista can carry out the role without the extensive amount of training other actors would require. The actor is best known for playing Drax the Destroyer in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) and the villainous Glossu Rabban Harkonnen in Denis Villeneuve’s Dune franchise.

The Independent has contacted Prime Video, Hurst and Bautista for comment.

God of War was first released as a video game for the PlayStation 2 in 2005. The earlier games in the series are based on Greek mythology and follow Kratos on his path of vengeance against the Olympian gods. The later games draw on Norse mythology and depict Kratos on a path toward redemption, introducing his son, Atreus, as they interact with various Norse gods and figures.

Amazon announced it had ordered a live-action series adaptation in 2022. The show, developed by Ronald D Moore (Battlestar Galactica), follows Kratos and Atreus (Callum Vinson) 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 series’ official logline.

Also starring in the series are Mandy Patinkin as Odin, Ed Skrein as Baldur, Max Parker as Heimdall, Ólafur Darri Ólafsson as Thor, Teresa Palmer as Sif, Alastair Duncan as Mimir, Jeff Gulka as Sindri and Danny Woodburn as Brok.

Back in March, David Jaffe, the creator of the video game franchise, issued a damning criticism of the first-look image of Hurst in character as Kratos.

Jaffe said that the picture, which showed Kratos standing with his hands on his knees, watching Atreus (Callum Vinson) shoot a bow and arrow in the woods, was “dumb”.

“Kratos in this pose with this expression, not the guy’s face, but this expression, he just looks stupid,” he said. “If you’re going to reveal, to most people, a brand new character that you hope is going to carry your series, for the first time, and they’ve never really seen this before, and this is the way you introduce them?”

He considered that the character’s appearance might be a conscious decision to portray Kratos as more than vengeful and rage-filled. “Maybe they’re like, ‘Well, what we really want to focus on is the father-son story. And if we focus on him being like, Spartan rage, and all that, maybe people are like, ‘I don’t want to watch that show,’” he suggested.

“OK maybe. But then, at that point, could you find a picture that doesn’t look like he’s s***ting in the woods? Cause that’s what the picture looks like.”

However, he added that showrunner Moore is “awesome” and “talented,” stating that he has no doubt the live-action series will ultimately be good.