HOLLYWOOD (NEWSWATCH33) – Sony Pictures has announced that Dwayne Johnson will star as Kratos in God of War, set to be released in 2016. The announcement was made after Sony finally gave the go on production of the film.
Many video games fans have expressed their interest in seeing the popular Playstation title turn into a Hollywood blockbuster. The project itself has been on and off for the last six years, and the creators of the popular franchise have really wanted to move forward, but it has been an extremely slow process.
The original script had been written by David Self, whose credits in writing have included the Academy-Award nominated film, Road to Perdition starring Tom Hanks, The Wolfman starring Benicio Del Toro and Anthony Hopkins, the JFK and Cuban Missle Crisis film, Thirteen Days, starring Bruce Greenwood and Kevin Costner, and his first credited work, 199’s reboot of the classic horror film, The Haunting, starring Liam Neeson, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Owen Wilson.
Marcus Dunstan and Patrick Melton have been hired to rewrite the screenplay. Although their resumes are not as boisterous as the previously hired writer, Sony believes that their new script will be an instant hit with God of War fans once the film hits movies theaters.
“In the God of War game, there’s that attack from the barbarians and Kratos has to call upon Ares to help him. Really, that’s going to be our first act break. Before then, he’s going to be mortal, and he’s going to have his family. We’re going to learn about him and understand how he operates. So it’s potentially 30 minutes, give or take, of building up this character so that, when he does turn and becomes the Ghost of Sparta, we understand him as a human and we understand the journey that he’s going to take. We’re emotionally invested, so that it could go beyond just this one movie,” said Melton.
Sony decided to cast Dwayne Johnson as Kratos due to his physique, and roles in films related to Greek mythology. The decision to have Angelina Jolie play as Athena was made based on her role as Lara Croft in Tomb Raider and as Grendal’s mother in Beowulf. According to Thomas Rothman, “The Rock has a great fan base. He’s a well known actor and has starred in several films that has proven he can portray any character on screen. With his roles in films like Scorpion King and Hercules, we believe that he will do well in God of War.”
Rothman further added, ” Angelina is a wonderful actress. Her role as Lara Croft in Tomb Raider, among aother popular films starring Jolie has helped us feel confident in choosing Jolie to play Athena in God of War.”
As of now, Dunstan and Melton are currenrtly working on the screenplay. While Brett Ratner was once attached to helm the project, God of War is currently without a director however Sony is considering Christopher Nolan, Jack Synder and Steven Spielberg.
