Dave Bautista looks menacing in a new clip showing his progress toward becoming God of War’s Kratos, dispelling any doubts that he’s perfect for the role after the original lead, Ryan Hurst, was replaced. Production for Prime Video’s upcoming live-action series suffered a major setback in June when Hurst’s injury prompted a recast, but Bautista has now quickly caught up and ensured the project is back on track. Bautista was reported to be in talks to replace Hurst in July, but the official confirmation only dropped late last month. That gave Bautista a very brief window to achieve Drax-level muscle gains in preparation for the role, and he proved he’s up to the challenge with a progress update in an Instagram post. “Third week in to weight training again. Two more months to get to where I need to be. Like ridin a bike! LFG!” he wrote.

The former WWE star looked lean and shredded in his latest reveal, possibly in preparation for a re-bulk. The show will adapt the Norse mythology-based games, 2018’s God of War, and 2022’s God of War Ragnarok, and in both games Kratos looked insanely jacked. It’s still unclear whether Bautista will attempt to attain Kratos’ build, but his physique is already similar to Hurst’s before the recast. Filming for God of War was reportedly set to resume in October, but Bautista’s post revealed the schedule has been pushed back to November. Amazon is starting on a clean slate, shooting back-to-back seasons, and the four completed episodes with Hurst will be scrapped. That should spur a clamor to release those “lost” episodes in the future, just for a chance to see Hurst’s version of the character.

Bautista has proven he can handle such an iconic role with presence and gravitas, based on his previous performances. The actor has demonstrated his range in Spectre, Blade Runner 2049, Dune, and Knock at the Cabin, and he was the spitting image of Kratos as Edo Voss in the post-apocalyptic sci-fi series See. Christopher Judge, the voice actor for Kratos in the God of War video games, is also confident Bautista could nail the part, but he’s rightfully concerned about Bautista’s drastic physical transformation after losing a lot of weight. Bautista is set to lead God of War alongside Ólafur Darri Ólafsson (Severance) as Thor, Max Parker (Boots) as Heimdall, Teresa Palmer (Warm Bodies) as Sif, Mandy Patinkin (Homeland) as Odin, Alastair Duncan (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) as Mimir, Jeff Gulka (The X-Files) as Sindri, Danny Woodburn (Conan the Adventurer) as Brok, and Callum Vinson (Crystal Lake) as Atreus, Kratos’ son.

Bautista’s update bodes well for the long-awaited adaptation, which lost its momentum with Hurst’s unfortunate mishap. Bautista looks battle-ready and ripped, and based on his pace, he’s set to wield the Guardian Shield, Draupnir Spear, and the Leviathan Axe soon enough.