God of War Laufey was in the works since 2018, star Deborah Ann Woll reveals

God of War Laufey – the upcoming Santa Monica Studio entry starring Faye as its protagonist – has been in development far longer than anyone outside the studio knew. Deborah Ann Woll, who plays Laufey, told CGM she first heard about the project nearly a decade ago and has been sitting on the secret ever since.

The details are striking. Director Cory Barlog pitched the game to Woll back in 2018, around the time the God of War reboot launched, and he already had a poster ready showing Woll's character alongside a gelatinous cube companion – the same cube that appeared in the reveal trailer and sparked a wave of online debate. "He pitched it to me in 2018, and they had known about it before then," Woll said. "It's wild. Like when Cory brought me in to talk about doing Ragnarök and show me the 2018 game, he already had a poster for the Laufey game with me and a cube. A cube that's been there since the beginning. It's deeply a part of the lore." Woll also confirmed the game runs concurrently with the 2018 Norse saga, meaning it will revisit and expand on lingering mysteries from that storyline.

The reveal generated a mixed reaction – some fans were skeptical about the cube companion, others were disappointed Kratos isn't the lead. Director Ariel Lawrence has acknowledged the skepticism directly, saying she understands it but hopes players will give the game a chance. Woll, for her part, is unambiguously enthusiastic, calling it her favourite job ever and praising the animation team for capturing subtle facial expressions that she says even surprised her when she watched the trailer back. "Every single little muscle movement, my eyes, little tiny things that they captured and put in that make a fuller, richer person," she said.

No release date has been announced for God of War Laufey, but Santa Monica Studio has confirmed Kratos will return in future games, so this isn't a permanent farewell to the Ghost of Sparta.