David Jaffe tears apart the promotional shot but remains optimistic about the God of War series.
The first image from the upcoming God of War TV show has surfaced, and David Jaffe’s reaction is… something else. When he saw the promotional shot, his reaction was basically, “What the hell is this?” To give a little context, Jaffe isn’t just anyone; he directed the first God of War game and helped shape Kratos into the character everyone knows today. Over the years, he’s become one of the franchise’s most vocal critics of where it went after the reboot. He’s praised parts of the newer games, but he’s also never shy about pointing out what doesn’t work for him.
So when Amazon finally dropped the first official image, people were naturally curious about his take. And as expected, he didn’t hold back. The image features Ryan Hurst as Kratos and Callum Vinson as Atreus, recreating the hunting scene from the opening of God of War 2018. Atreus is aiming his bow offscreen while Kratos crouches behind him, clearly trying to mirror that early father-and-son moment from the game.
First up, what’s memeable is Kratos’s expression. According to Jaffe, it makes him look stupid. He joked that Kratos looks confused, or worse, like he’s taking a dump in the woods—definitely not the intimidating Spartan god people expect. Then there’s Atreus, whose hair Jaffe thought had way too much product, joking that it looked like someone dumped half a bottle of gel on the kid before the shoot. The way Atreus holds his bow also caught his attention, with Jaffe commenting that the pose made the kid look awkward and a bit off. For him, the whole image just feels strange.
Both Kratos and Atreus look confused, and the moment doesn’t quite capture the tone fans remember from the game.
Even the background didn’t escape his scrutiny. The boulder behind them, he said, looked like cheap foam from a hobby store train set, adding to the overall oddness of the scene. Of course, this is just a promotional image, and the exact shot may never appear in the show. Studios often take photos for marketing that don’t fully represent the final scenes. Still, when the creator of the franchise starts roasting a first look this heavily, people will tend to notice.
Despite all the jokes and critiques, Jaffe remains confident that the show itself has a lot going for it. He praised the people running the project, especially showrunner Ron Moore, who has a huge television track record, including Battlestar Galactica, and called him a storytelling powerhouse.
Cory Barlog, the director behind God of War 2018 and Ragnarok, is also involved, and Jaffe highlighted how well he understands the universe and contributes creatively.
Amazon clearly has faith in the show, too, having already greenlit two full seasons before the first even airs. The plan is to adapt the Norse saga from the recent games, meaning the real challenge will be capturing the dynamic between Kratos and Atreus, which the game does to perfection.
That father-and-son relationship is the emotional core of the story, and there’s a lot riding on Amazon being able to do justice to God of War’s story. If it comes through, the show could be a hit. Still, based on the first image, Jaffe’s advice might be to check the hair gel budget before filming continues.
