Sony encourages God of War screenwriters to expand story, not treat it as 'sacred'

Sony has given Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan, the screenwriting duo bringing God of War to the silver screen, permission to take the story in "a more bold direction" that may include "dramatic shifts" from the established canon, the screenwriters told Shock Till You Drop.

Given that the God of War series shares themes with recent films like Clash of the Titans and Immortals, the screenwriters are using those films as inspiration to push the boundaries of the genre.

"Those movies can inform the God of War to step in a more bold direction," Dunstan said. "Not to join those ranks, but to stand head and shoulders apart like other reinventions have done within that genre."

"Those movies can inform the God of War to step in a more bold direction."

The bold direction they're seeking affects Kratos' origin story, a decision that Sony supports, according to Melton.

"Sony games, you think they'd be sacred about the origin story and all of that, but they were encouraging us to make it different from those movies and if that means going in dramatic shifts, they were cool of it," Melton said.

The Hollywood Reporter broke the news of their involvement in July when they took over for David Self, who wrote the first draft. Melton and Dunstan have written several projects together, including the final four films in the Saw franchise.