TC Carson, the original voice actor for Kratos, reveals in an interview why he didn’t reprise his legendary role in the latest God of War entry.
Of the PlayStation IPs that have appeared in recent decades, God of War is one that left a significant mark on both the gaming industry and the gaming community. It is one of the most influential hack-and-slash franchises ever created and even after fifteen years, God of War is still relevant. However, a person who played a significant role in the franchise’s infancy explained why it didn’t appear in the latest installment.
Before Christopher Judge took over as Kratos’ voice actor, the character was portrayed by TC Carson, an American singer and voice actor, who also played Mace Windu in various Star Wars projects. Before the release of God of War (2018), many fans found it strange how Carson was replaced after playing the character in every game up to that point, but there is a decent reason for that.
In a recent interview Carson did with the YouTube channel djvlad, Carson explains why he was unable to reprise the role of Kratos. When Carson previously made the character, he provided the voiceover, while another actor did the motion capture. Going into God of War (2018), Cory Barlog, the game director, wanted the voiceover and motion capture to be provided by the same person and Carson’s body type did not match Kratos’ appearance in the game. Hence the casting of Christopher Judge.
Although, on the subject of his replacement, Carson mentioned how unceremonious it was. Sony had apparently not reached out to him regarding the Kratos recast, which proved unprofessional for Carson. This situation is almost similar to Kiefer Sutherland replacing David Hayter as Snake in Metal Gear Solid 5.
In any case, it is interesting how much overlap there is in terms of voiceover and motion capture. It is often the case that voiceover and motion capture are done by different people, but that is not always true, especially with newer games, and problems can sometimes arise as a result. For example, the Marvel’s Spider-Man remaster features a restyled Peter Parker that was initially not received favorably by the gaming community.
It will be interesting to see what the future holds in terms of God of War. Given the massive success the most recent entry received, it’s clear that there is still high demand for the series. With the release of God of War: Ragnarok on the horizon in 2021, fans of the series have a lot to look forward to.
God of War (2018) is now available exclusively for PS4.
