I assume you’re here because you like the tv show Vikings in which case congratulations you have wonderful taste in television. I won’t be talking about Vikings much today because at this point the show has come to an end and any video you could want to watch on the subject is already out there. But if you would like to hear my review/opinion on anything Vikings related comment below and I’ll do that because obviously, I love to talk about it.
But for today I’ll be talking about the beacon of hope far out in the distance called Vikings Valhalla a spinoff of Vikings that will be a Netflix original coming out later in 2021. Which I’m excited but also nervous about.
Table of Contents
My Initial Thoughts
When I hear spinoff, sequel, or remake the first thing I think is that they made a lot of money on the original and they want to continue making money from it. Therefore, 9 times out of 10, they’ll just pump something out without putting in much effort knowing fans miss the show/movie and want more and will probably watch at least 1 or 2 seasons before giving up on it which is enough to make it worth their while.
When the show was first announced right after the release of season 6A of Vikings they didn’t say much about it leaving me wondering for almost a year about not only what would happen in the last season of Vikings but also what Vikings Valhalla would be about. Would it pick up right where the last show ends? or would it be set farther in the future? and if so how much farther 100-200 years? Or will they try and make some weird modern Scandinavian romance thing? And to be honest I wouldn’t have put it past Netflix to do something like that. But thankfully that’s not what happened.
Viking Valhala’s Plot
Late last year it was announced that the show will be set over 100 years after the events of Vikings. So yes, sadly that means our beloved characters from the original show will have long since died. But of course, their legend lives on and will be referenced to and talked about throughout the new series. Meaning even if you haven’t watched Vikings you’ll still be able to watch Valhalla without feeling like there’s a missing piece to the puzzle.
Valhalla is set in the early 11th century, the end of the Viking age draws ever closer as England stands tall against its nordic raiders. After the death of King Edward the confessor, three lords make claim to the English throne, changing the future of England forever. Leif Eriksson has just led a ship of Greenlanders across the north Atlantic. He is extremely loyal to his family but has trouble with his father Erik the red.
Freydís Eiríksdóttir is his half-sister. A sexual assault by a group of Christian Vikings has made her violently anti-christian and becomes the ringleader and defender of the old Norse religion against the rising tide of Christianity that is flooding Scandinavia, and will look for a new home for her people. She is romantically drawn into a relationship with Torsen a well-spoken Christan Viking from a royal family.
Torsen has just survived the st. Bryce’s day massacre, the attempted genocide of Scandinavians ordered by the king Aethelred the unready. Torsen is part of a battalion that is being assembled by king Harald Hardrada to avenge the massacre. He is guided by Alienor, his wise queen and earl Colby, and an ambitious Anglo-Saxon counselor.
Michael Hirst’s Opinion on Viking Valhalla
Michael Hirst, creator of Vikings who will also be working on Valhalla offered his thoughts on the new series, whether it will match Vikings in scope and scale.
“It couldn’t be on a greater scale than the final episodes of Vikings. Because of the armies and the big battles we had. You really can’t get much bigger than that, actually. But what can I say? It is being made in the same places, a lot of it”
Michael Hirst
We go back to Kattegat. That, of course, is the spiritual home of the Vikings. But it’s a changed Kattegat. It’s established. It’s one of the biggest ports really, trading ports in Europe. It’s grown in size and significance. The king of England has become a Viking. The Vikings have overrun most of England and they own Normandy.” Along with how Valhalla will be connected to the original Vikings show.
“What Jeb Stuart does actually is he pays attention to the mythology of the Vikings, so whenever they meet in the great hall in Kattegat, and of course they talk about the great eras who used to sit in the same hall at the same table, and they were Ragnar Lothbrok, Lagertha, Björn Ironside, and Ivar the boneless, who are now mythic characters even within the show, even within Vikings: Valhalla. That’s a really great connection and effect. It gives ready-made histories to the new show. So you don’t need to know who Ragnar is to watch the new show. But it enriches the show and it will hopefully make people go back and find out, ‘well who are these people they keep talking about? Why was Ragnar so great? Why are these people mythic characters?’ so everything connects in a useful, and interesting, and fascinating way.”
Michael Hirst
Who Will be the Cast in Vikings Valhalla
Now I’m sure by now you’re wondering who is in the cast of Vikings Valhalla and who are they playing. We don’t have all the details just yet but in January 2021 10 of the main and recurring cast members were revealed *reference watch-on-Netflix*
| Cast Member | Role | Known From |
|---|---|---|
| Sam Corlett | Leif Eriksson | Chilling Adventures of Sabrina |
| Frida Gustavsson | freydís eiríksdóttir | The witcher, Swoon |
| Leo Suter | Harald Sigurdsson | Sandition, Victoria |
| Bradley Freegard | King canute | Keeping faith |
| Jóhannes | ||
| Jóhannesson | Olaf haraldson | game of thrones, cursed |
| Laura Berlin | Emma of Norway | Breaking even, Einstein |
| David Oakes | Earl Godwin | The borgias, Victoria |
| Caroline Henderson | Jarl Haakon | Christmas star, Gooseboy |
| Pollyanna Mclntosh | Queen aelfgifu | The walking dead, Middle earth: Shadow of war |
| Asbjorn Krogh Nissen | Jarl Kare | Bron, Copenhagen |
| Yvonne Mai | Merin | The crown, House of shadows |
| Bill Murphy | Odger | Titanic: blood and steel |
| Bosco Hogan | Æthelred | Vikings, The borgias |
| John Kavanagh | Seer | Vikings |
| Karen Connell | Angel of Death | Vikings |
| Gavan O’connor Duffy | Njall | Vikings |
| Kenneth Christensen | TBA | The kite |
| Louis Davidson | Edward | Poldark |
| Alfrun Laufeyjardottir | TBA | Happily never after |
| Ethan dillon | TBA | Dub daze |
| Paaru oja | TBA | Cold courage |
| Brian robinson | Yngvi | 2 broke girls |
| Jack mullarkey | Toke |
To answer your next question yes a few of the original Vikings characters will appear in Valhalla the first and most notable being john Kavanagh who portrayed the ancient seer throughout all 6 seasons of Vikings later in which he only appeared to people in visions. So I assume he will be appearing in visions in Valhalla as well.
Other cast members from Vikings that will appear in Valhalla include Karen Connell, Bosco Hogan, and Gavan O’Connor Duffy. Connell appeared in Vikings as the angel of death so I assume she will have the same role as well. While Hogan and Duffy will have entirely new roles. The first season will have 24 episodes and has wrapped filming while the second season is supposed to begin filming later this year in Ireland, Canada, and America.
Conclusion
As of now, that’s pretty much all the information we have on Valhalla. Are you excited? Comment your thoughts and opinions below along with any information you think I may have missed. Also, let me know what other videos you’d like to see from me! When the show primers I’ll give my opinions/reviews and maybe do a what-along! Until then I’ll keep you up to date as more information comes out.