God of War creator reacts to Amazon Prime series first-look image: "It's so bad in so many ways"

David Jaffe said he believed the image was an AI recreation at first.
Text: Alex Hopley
Published 2026-03-02

Amazon Prime Video released the first look at its upcoming God of War series last week, showing an early look at Ryan Hurst playing Kratos and Callum Vinson as young Atreus. It's safe to say the response probably isn't what Amazon were hoping for, and even the original creator David Jaffe has stepped in to say his piece on the image.

"I'm sure everybody's trying real hard," Jaffe said in a recent YouTube video. "It's so dumb. But, okay, let's be incredibly clear, two things can be true at once. This can be a terrible image, and it is. It is so bad in so many ways... and [showrunner] Ron Moore is awesome."

Jaffe doesn't think this image has killed the show entirely or anything so extreme, but like many fans online, he was wondering why it got shared in the way it did. Over on Twitter/X, Jaffe also criticised star Ryan Hurst's response to the backlash, saying "don't believe everything you see on the internet, kids."

<social>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XfaGuGlpP-g</social>

In response to Hurst, Jaffe said: "Cool and true. But at the same time, this is also true: If you are the marketing team behind something, don't release it on the internet if you don't want people to see and judge it."

<social>https://x.com/davidscottjaffe/status/2027833066891424134</social>

What do you think of the first-look image of the God of War show?

Whether you love it or hate it, this image is going to be defining God of War's live-action adaptation for some time.

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