Casting for Prime Video’s upcoming “God of War” TV series is really getting closer. The project, which comes from writer, showrunner and executive producer Ronald D. Moore, has not only found a Pretty perfect Kratos that even players are happy with in actor Ryan Hurst, but there is also casting a great Thor in “Severance” stars Ólafur Darri Ólafsson. (Funny enough, Hurst actually voiced Thor in the video game that serves as the source material, but he’ll also do a killer Greek god of the force.) Now, Deadline reports that “The Princess Bride” and “Homeland” star Mandy Patinkin will play one of the most dangerous antagonists in Norse mythology: Odin, the god of war.
While the main villain and Greek god of war from the original “God of War” game trilogy, Ares, is a hulking, ripped guy with flamboyant hair, Odin from 2018’s “God of War” and its follow-up are a bit more devious in his strength. Represented as a bald old man with a gray beard and one eye, he is nonetheless a master manipulator and tactician, like a cyclopean Tywin Lannister. If anyone can project the power and age of Odin while looking fairly unimposing, it’ll be Patinkin.
Mandy Patinkin as Odin is truly divine casting
Mandy Patinkin has always been a reliable star of film, stage and the small screen, with roles in everything from “Dick Tracy” to “Criminal Minds.” He’s skilled at playing all kinds of roles and has depth that’s hard to quantify, and he will undoubtedly excel as Odin the Allfather, one of the oldest and most powerful gods in the Norse pantheon. In “God of War”, Odin is paranoid and worried about Ragnarök, an apocalyptic event that will be triggered by the death of the god Baldur and will mark the end of the lives of all gods. (The game’s sequel, “God of War Ragnarök”, depicts the aftermath of this cataclysmic event.) Although it may seem like wanting to stop the end of the world is a good thing, Odin isn’t exactly doing it for altruistic reasons since he will die too.
The Nordics The “God of War” games are excellentand I hope the small screen adaptation will follow. Don’t expect Patinkin to say “My name is Odin Borsson, you started Ragnarök, prepare to die.”
