Following years and years of inactivity, Sony are picking up the pieces and reconstructing their God of War movie. First step: hire some writers. Second step: have them figure things out from there.

That’s just what Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan are being tasked with right now, as David Self‘s original screenplay is getting a ground-level adjustment from the pair. When speaking to IGN, they explained how that first draft needs to stand out a bit more, since 300, Clash of the Titans, and Immortals employed a similar visual aesthetic and, in the case of the latter two, dealt with the idea of “killing Greek Gods.” They’ll make God of War feel fresh by making its hero, Kratos, a more humanistic character; when their film starts, he won’t yet be the killer the game shows from its outset.

So, expect a first act — which they anticipate is around 30 minutes — that depict Kratos as a family man, allowing us to “learn about him and understand how he operates.” Their method is one inspired by Christopher Nolan‘s Batman series, in which they play up his pre-hero days so as to allow audiences to “understand him as a human and we understand the journey that he’s going to take.” (For some reason, this investment means Sony could “go beyond just this one movie.” That doesn’t exactly add up, but if that’s what they say…)

There was a bit more in the way of Kratos’ development — mainly, that he’ll need to go through hell in order to make the big slaying count for something — but they did briefly mention Aries, which just so happened to be the most substantial new note. In the original game, you see him for a bit in flashbacks and the background, he’s hunted down, then slain with enough button mashes; basically, kind of a weak antagonist. Melton and Dunstan will attempt “to build him up a bit more, too, so that he can become a true villain,” the primary of which being his evil deeds getting a more “visible” appearance.

There are signs of a more compelling narrative than an otherwise fun-but-minor video game quest. Count me as skeptical, though, when the two writers were also behind several Saw movies, the Feast trilogy, and Piranha 3DD — not credits that show much in the way of compelling work.

Do the comments of Melton and Dunstan give any weight to God of War?