Dave Bautista Packs On 20 Pounds of Muscle to Play Kratos

Dave Bautista has added 20 pounds of muscle to play Kratos, the lead character in Prime Video's God of War series. He shared the change in an Instagram Story, and GameSpot reports that his weight has reached 250 pounds. Filming on the series is set to resume soon.

Bautista said he needed two months to get ready to play Kratos on television. The god of war is a towering, muscular character in the video games the show is based on, and the actor's bulk-up is a visible part of that preparation.

Bautista is no stranger to big frames. He wrestled in WWE under the ring name Batista, starting as Deacon Batista at 325 pounds. He once weighed 370 pounds during his career, and he usually sat around 290 pounds during his WWE runs. For the 2023 horror film Knock at the Cabin, where he played Leonard, he increased his weight to 315 pounds.

The Kratos role has changed hands. Ryan Hurst had first been cast in the part, but he left after a bicep tear that needed months of downtime and rehabilitation, according to GameSpot. Hurst had suffered an on-set injury before stepping away, as Variety reported.

The move came together over the summer. Deadline reported in early August 2026 that Bautista had entered negotiations to replace Hurst. Bautista officially signed on to play Kratos on 20 August 2026, according to Variety.

The series has already been given two seasons. Callum Vinson will play Atreus, Kratos's son, who sits at the emotional centre of the games' story. Atreus and Kratos travel together through a world of gods and monsters, and the show follows that father-and-son relationship.

For viewers, the practical news is simple. Bautista is the new Kratos, the cast has its Atreus, and the cameras are set to roll again soon. The bulk he has added is one of the first visible signs of how the role is being built for the screen.