Prime Video is at it again with a new fantasy after The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, but it already looks like God of War is going to cause just as much trouble. The Amazon streamer has no shortage of hits, but it has developed an unfortunate reputation ever since it first announced that it had a Lord of the Rings TV show on the way. Rings of Power is now heading into its third season, but that first wave of controversy has yet to truly ebb. This is a series that the public really loves to criticize, and God of War might be next.
To fully understand the position God of War is currently in, we must first take a look back at what initially caused all the hubbub with Rings of Power. Prime Video spent months publicly discussing how great this Lord of the Rings TV show is going to be. The price tag was a real bragging point, and it seemed the company wanted everyone to know that this was going to be a top-quality production—the best TV show money could buy. However, when those first-look images arrived, the internet wasn’t impressed
The discussions around those Rings of Power images largely revolved around how sterile and over-edited everything looked. This was, of course, only the start. Years later, there is a long list of complaints against Prime Video’s Rings of Power. Those images turned out to be a sort of premonition of the trouble the show would be in, and God of War has now headed down the same path.
God Of War’s First Look Has Already Caused A Wave Of Backlash
As another upcoming TV show based on a beloved IP, God of War was always going to come under heavy scrutiny. Still, Prime Video didn’t do itself any favors. Shortly after the series went into production in February 2026, Prime released a first-look image showing Ryan Hurst and Callum Vinson in costume as Kratos and his son Atreus, respectively. Though the actors mostly look the part, the internet took significant issue with Prime Video’s perplexing choice to release this image in particular.
Once again, Amazon seems to have gotten ahead of itself. The God of War image comes across as painfully cheesy because it isn’t refined. Early promotional images need to give prospective audiences their first chance to be immersed in this new world. Instead, the God of War image makes it painfully obvious that these are two actors on a sound stage surrounded by fake rocks and trees. It’s the same sort of over-eagerness that set Rings of Power up so poorly.
While Lord of the Rings fans have been saying for years that the late J.R.R. Tolkien would hate Rings of Power, God of War fans have no need to speculate in this same way. The game’s creator himself took to the internet to call out the very same issues. Jaffe expressed his frustration in a YouTube video, calling out the styrofoam rock and saying, “Could you find a picture that doesn’t look like he’s shi*****g in the woods?“
There’s Still Hope God Of War Will Learn From Rings Of Power’s Mistakes
Of course, it’s important to remember that God of War can still be an excellent TV show, even if Prime Video’s choice in a first-look image was misguided. Jaffe himself admitted as much, noting in his video that showrunner Ronald D. Moore is a master of his craft and will surely do something spectacular with the project. The issue here is that Prime Video seems not to have learned from its past mistakes. First impressions are everything, and it continues to put out half-baked promotions ahead of its biggest fantasy projects.
The negative momentum created by this God of War image won’t be easy to slow down, but there’s still hope. Had Rings of Power followed up its unfortunate first impression with a TV show faithful to Tolkien’s work, all might have been forgiven. This isn’t what happened, and the show has since inspired controversy around just about every corner. God of War still has a chance. Perhaps the next batch of promotional images will be higher quality and more on-brand. Perhaps the show itself will be a masterpiece. There’s still time for God of War to avoid being the next Rings of Power, but only time will tell.