“God of War” video game series actor Christopher Judge expressed frustration that Amazon’s upcoming TV adaptation of the franchise has been developed without involving writers and developers behind the original source material.

Judge, who voiced and performed motion-capture for the series protagonist Kratos in the 2018 title “God of War” and its 2022 sequel “God of War Ragnarök,” shared a statement Thursday advocating for “writers and developers” of the original games.

“I really want them to get the love and respect they deserve. I hope that for all writers and developers of the games that we love,” Judge wrote. “No disrespect to tv and film writers. I had some of the best on ‘Stargate.’”

Judge’s post clarified comments that he had made during a panel at FanExpo Denver back in May, which had resurfaced online earlier in the week through a post from FanExpo. At the event, Judge dug into his frustrations with Amazon’s “God of War” series and HBO’s “The Last of Us,” another TV adaptation of a Sony video game franchise.

“My problem with all gaming adaptations is you have this pre-existing, successful property, and the first thing you do is not hire anyone associated with it. I don’t understand that,” Judge said onstage. “‘The Last of Us,’ love Pedro (Pascal) … Love all of them. I think they’re great. Were they better than the game cast? I saw a stage reading that they did in New York, the game cast. It was unreal. I have no idea why you don’t just take that cast, those writers, especially when you are going to do episodes that are shot-for-shot remakes of the game. I don’t get it.”

“When it was finally approved and announced, and they didn’t hire any of the ‘God of War’ writers, I was like, ‘What are you thinking?” Judge continued. “These guys have been immersed in this world for 20 years. But someone’s going to know better? … That thinking just drives me bonkers. You have the chance to bring this great fandom with you, who will give you a shot to get better. Now, you better be great out of the gate. Or we’re all leaving.”

Judge went on to clarify that his opinion has “nothing to do” with him not being cast as Kratos in the series and noted that he wouldn’t “want to be a distraction” in a cameo role either.

“Frankly, I’m too old to be live-action Kratos. I’m 62-years-old. I don’t want to go for 14 to 18 hour days. I don’t want to be in the shape that I would feel was necessary to play Kratos. I don’t want to eat like that. I don’t want to not see my kids anymore. I’ve already done that,” Judge said. “This is about everyone else involved with it.”

Amazon has not formally announced a team of writers for its “God of War” series, though “For All Mankind” creator Ronald D. Moore is serving as showrunner, writer and executive producer. Meanwhile, Cory Barlog and Yumi Yang are executive producers, while Jeff Ketcham is a co-executive producer; all three are working through Santa Monica Studios, the developer behind the “God of War” video games. Sony Interactive CEO Hermen Hulst is also an executive producer.

Of the announced series cast, only Alastair Duncan is reprising his role from the games, playing Mimir. Ryan Hurst had been slated to play Kratos after voicing Thor in the games; however, the role is expected to be recast after the actor suffered an injury during production.

With regards to HBO’s “The Last of Us,” the video game series creator Neil Druckmann served as a co-showrunner, writer and director on the first two seasons of the series, but he has stepped away ahead of Season 3 production. Jeffrey Wright and Merle Dandridge reprised their video game roles for the live-action series, though most of the game’s ensemble was recast.

A representative for Amazon did not immediately respond to comment.

Rob Rausch, a handsome snake-wrangler from Alabama, was standing a few feet away from Maura Higgins, the former Love Islander, next to the Traitors’ roundtable. Showing little emotion, he finally revealed that he had double-crossed her to win more than $220,000.

“I was so fooled by you, you absolute *sshole, you pinky promised,” Higgins says in the Peacock finale. “You’re never going to have a girlfriend after this; you’re such a good liar.”

Higgins and the majority of the cast had been fooled all along.

“I wish I could sit here and say I knew he was a traitor, but I had no clue,” Higgins said at Deadline’s Contenders Television: The Nominees Studio. “He played the best game in that castle. I genuinely did believe he was a faithful, but you know what? It’s a game, and I was fine with it. I went through all the emotions very quickly, and then I was like, ‘You know what? Fair play.’ I genuinely was so convinced that me and him was winning the show together.”

Higgins was joined by Rausch and fellow Season 4 contestants Monét X Change, Tara Lipinski, Lisa Rinna, Rob Cesternino and Eric Nam for the Deadline conversation. Watch the discussion below, and scroll down for photos from the event.

Rausch was cold as ice. “I was actually surprised in the edit. I feel like they made me seem a little more nervous than I was,” he said.

Rausch, who also became famous on the U.S. version of Love Island, did make it up to Higgins, somewhat, by buying her a Hermès Birkin bag.

Rinna, a fellow traitor and the person who helped Rausch secure the bag, had similarly been crossed by him, twice. “I just didn’t see that coming, so I was really genuinely shocked by that because I thought he was a better boy than that, but he wasn’t,” she said. “Everyone wanted him to be Mr. America, and no one wanted to believe that he could possibly be a traitor.”

It was a dynamite finale for the Studio Lambert-produced show, which scored six Emmy nominations this year including for Outstanding Reality Competition Program, after winning that category the past two seasons.

In addition to those on the Deadline panel, the series starred Ian Terry, Porsha Williams, Donna Kelce, Caroline Stanbury, Tiffany Mitchell, Michael Rapaport, Ron Funches, Yamil ‘Yam Yam’ Arocho, Colton Underwood, Candiace Dillard Bassett, Dorinda Medley, Stephen Colletti, Kristen Kish, Natalie Anderson, Mark Ballas, Johnny Weir and Eric Nam.

Tara Lipinski and Maura Higgins

Anthony Avellano for Deadline

Rob Rausch

Anthony Avellano for Deadline

Lisa Rinna

Anthony Avellano for Deadline

Monét X Change

Anthony Avellano for Deadline

Eric Nam

Anthony Avellano for Deadline

Rob Cesternino

Anthony Avellano for Deadline

Nam, who became a traitor after being recruited halfway through the show, was also crossed by Rausch in the finale. “Rob was like ‘We’re going to win this together’ and I was like ‘Cool.’”

The singer-songwriter said it was difficult pivoting from being a faithful to becoming a traitor. “Emotionally, it was exhausting,” he said. “We had quickly become friends. I went to bed one night and three hours later, you have to go decide who to kill and that was such a stressful experience.”

One moment not shown on screen was when the whole group was going down the stairs: Nam shouted “Traitor,” and Rinna turned her head. She was subsequently banished in episode 7. But she was fine with that.

“I had no strategy whatsoever, but the plan that I had was I wanted to wear that Erik Charlotte Couture dress to the banquet, and I didn’t know when the banquet was because they tell you nothing. I was just holding out for that, and so once they got me after that, I was fine because in my mind I had won,” she said.

Monét X Change, a faithful murdered in episode 5, said that he had tried to send Higgins “messages from the grave” but she didn’t hear him.

Cesternino, a former Survivor star, was murdered in episode 3. He said that The Traitors is more “mentally taxing” than the CBS competition series.

Lipinski, an Olympic figure skater, made it to the end but couldn’t convince Higgins or Nam that Rausch was a traitor.

“He plays it so cool, at all times,” she said. “You’re constantly surveying everyone, and you just don’t pick up any type of energy of [whether] he even wants to be there. He just did a great job.”

Everyone grab your webshooters because it’s undoubtedly Spidey season. 

During a Saturday panel at D23 expo, a group of presenters that include Marvel studio’s president Kevin Feige, Spider-Man: Brand New Day actor Jacob Batalon and Disney+’s Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man showrunner Jeff Trammell hit the stage to celebrate 65 years of Spider-Man.

Though Peter doesn’t look a day older than his perpetual mid-teens to late 20s, the iconic webslinger has certainly earned his 401k pension and retirement plan these past six decades. 

Reflecting on Spider-Man’s ever growing popularity which has now expanded more than ever across the forms of an entire Spider-Verse, several highest grossing films, TV shows, video games and more comics, Feige and Batalon discussed the superhero’s legacy.

“There is so much story to tell, that even after 65 years, we’re just starting,” said Feige.

After ribbing Feige about getting his “own show,” Batalon added, “Truly just, wherever the story takes us, we’re willing to follow. I feel like we all work with amazing people who make great things and just want to be a part of something you all love.”

Although Tom Holland wasn’t present, he graced attendees with a video message. “Playing Peter Parker is my dream, and getting to live that dream has been one of the greatest privileges of my career,” he said.

Surprises revealed today on the Premiere stage included the announcement of an interview between Spider-Man: Brand New Day‘s Tom Holland and Destin Daniel Cretton which will be featured in the upcoming milestone comic Amazing Spider-Man #1000. The several story issue, coming out in September, will follow Spider-Man as he faces his first new fear-inducing and formidable villain in decades named Ravage. It will also mark Noah Hawley’s debut comic 

Disney+’s Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man Season 2, dropping January 2027, teased the introduction Eddie Brock, working for the Daily Bugle, as Doc Oc attacks a gala and kidnaps Harry Osborn after a brief fight with Spidey, who is exposed to Venom’s symbiote.