Dave Bautista is headed off to "War."
The "Guardians of the Galaxy" star, 57, took to Instagram Nov. 1 to provide an update on his preparations to play Kratos in the new "God of War" TV show.
In an Instagram story, Bautista shared a clip of himself flexing his muscles at the gym and revealing he has gained 20 pounds for the role. The song "Triumph" by Wu-Tang Clan accompanies the video, which says that Bautista now weighs in at 250 pounds.
The "Dune: Part Two" actor was officially cast as Kratos in the TV series based on the video games in August. He's replacing Ryan Hurst, who was originally playing the lead character but was injured on set and subsequently recast.
In early September, Bautista said he was training for the project and had two more
months "to get to where I need to be." "Like ridin a bike!" he captioned an Instagram video posted Sept. 2, which showed him removing his shirt and flexing.
The former WWE wrestler had previously said he was intentionally slimming down after gaining weight to star in the M. Night Shyamalan thriller "Knock at the Cabin."
Dave Bautista reveals he has gained 20 more pounds of muscle for playing Kratos in ‘GOD OF WAR’.
— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) November 1, 2026
He has now reached 250 pounds. pic.twitter.com/fUOr0P7EAB
"I got really big for a role, and it was uncomfortably big," he said in a 2024 interview with Chris Van Vliet. "'Knock at the Cabin,' I got really big. I was around 315 pounds, and I put the weight on really fast. When I was younger, I was carrying lots and lots of muscle. Between films, I had a very short period of time to put this weight on, and I packed it on with french fries and pancakes."
Bautista added that he "probably overdid it" and it "took me forever" to shed the weight afterward, but he noticed that the more he trimmed down, "the better I felt" and "the better I looked next to other actors" on camera. At the time of that interview, Bautista said he weighed 240 pounds and would "probably lose a few more pounds."
"God of War" is based on the popular PlayStation video game franchise and centers on Kratos and his son Atreus going on a journey to spread Kratos' wife's ashes. "Through their adventures, Kratos tries to teach his son to be a better god, while Atreus tries to teach his father how to be a better human," the official synopsis reads.
Callum Vinson stars as Atreus, and the rest of the cast includes Ólafur Darri Ólafsson as Thor, Max Parker as Heimdall, Mandy Patinkin as Odin, Alastair Duncan as Mimir, Danny Woodburn and Jeff Gulka as brothers Brok and Sindri, and Ed Skrein as Baldur.
Contributing: Charlie Carballo, USA TODAY
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Dave Bautista shows 'God of War' transformation after gaining 20 pounds
