God of War: Tyr Casting Is the Show's Biggest Hurdle

Prime Video's God of War series has its Kratos and its Thor. The hard part is still ahead: casting Tyr.

Screen Rant reports that Tyr stands 8 feet 5 inches in the games, more than a foot taller than Thor and two feet above Kratos. The show will need CGI and camera angles to sell that height, but the actor still has to bring a giant's frame.

Tyr also comes with a contradiction. He's a mythic presence who scares people on sight, yet he's a peaceful diplomat and traveler, almost an idealized mirror to Kratos. Screen Rant says the actor has to balance that imposing presence with a contemplative nature.

Before Dave Bautista took the role, Ryan Hurst was cast as Kratos but stepped back because of an injury, according to Screen Rant. Now the series has Bautista and Ólafur Darri Ólafsson as Thor, and Screen Rant points to Ólafsson's work in Severance as proof he can handle complex characters.

For Tyr, Screen Rant sees Olivier Richters as a possible fit, based on his roles in Reacher and Street Fighter, though his career is still early. The bar set by Bautista and Ólafsson is high. Whoever plays Tyr must fill 8-foot-5 shoes without losing the character's soul. That's the casting headache that could make or break the show.

• Casting
• Dave Bautista
• God of War
• Ólafur Darri Ólafsson
• Prime Video
• Tyr