The series is a sequel to Michael Hirst’s acclaimed “Vikings”, which premiered on History Channel in 2013 and ran for six seasons until its conclusion in 2020. The historical drama’s success has been credited with paving the way for a “Viking age” in pop culture. It also went on to inspire a series of related media, including a free comic book back in 2013, a slot to rival the likes of Starburst and Lucky Lady’s Charm deluxe and a successful sequel by Die Hard writer Jeb Stuart.
Set 100 years after the events of the original series, in the 11th century, Vikings: Valhalla depicts the beginning of the end of the great Viking Age, where tensions between the English and the Viking descendants reached a breaking point and clashes among the Vikings themselves arose due to the adoption of Christian beliefs. In this turbulent era, the legendary Norse explorer Leif Eriksson (Sam Corlett), his fierce sister Freydis Eriksdotter (Frida Gustavsso) and Norway prince Harald Sigurdsson (Leo Suter) embark on exciting and dangerous adventures.
Season two, released earlier this year on Netflix, saw the three heroes go on separate ways with Leif and Harald initiating a dangerous journey to Constantinople and Freydís travelling to Jomsborg to give birth to her and Harald’s baby. By the end of the season, Leif loses his new love but receives a key seemingly leading to a treasure that will help him in his journey toward becoming a legendary explorer. Harald is blindsided by his lover, Eleana who is set to marry the emperor of Rome. Freydís emerges victorious after a battle with Olaf and embraces her role as the Keeper of the Faith.
While there is no official release date for Vikings: Valhalla season three, Netflix has confirmed that the series is set to premiere sometime in 2024. A third season had been in the cards since 2019, as the streaming giant bought a 24-episode series, which was eventually divided into thirds.
Vikings: Valhalla season three will see leads Sam Corlett, Frida Gustavsso and Leo Suter return as Leif, Harald and Freydís respectively. Joining the leads are Bradley Freegard as King Canute, Laura Berlin as Queen Emma of Normandy, David Oakes as Earl Godwin, Bradley James as Lord Harekr, Marcin Doroci?ski as Grand Prince Yaroslav the Wise, Sofya Lebedeva as Elena, Nikolai Kinski as Emperor Romanos and Florian Munteanu as George Maniakes.
Among the new faces joining Viking: Valhalla in its third season is Goran Višnji?. The Croatian-American actor will play the legendary Viking Erik the Red, also Lief and Freydís’ father, who lives in exile in Greenland for his past crimes in Iceland and Norway. According to Deadline, Višnji? joins the show for “a major multi-year arc,” suggesting that Erik the Red will play a major role in the story’s events. The actor is best known for his roles in ER and Timeless, and has recently appeared in Santa Clarita Diet, This Is Us and The Boys.
While Netflix has yet to green-light a fourth season, showrunner and writer Jeb Stuart is optimistic about the series’ future beyond the upcoming season. “We really talked about one, two, and three as sort of a block, and then hopefully we could get to a four, five and six because the story is… I think you’ll see when you see Season 2 and Season 3. It’s almost like a novel. It has these wonderful time jumps and growth in terms of particular characters,” said Stuart in an interview with Collider.
Seasons one and two of Vikings: Valhalla are streaming now on Netflix.
