Netflix’s ‘Vikings: Valhalla’ Season 1: Everything We Know So Far

Freydis Eriksdottir (Codename: Signe Skardesdottir)

The official character description for “Signe” is the following:

Vidar’s fiery half-sister. A sexually liberated and fiercely pagan shield-maiden. Signe is much more like their volatile father than Vidar. A horrific rape at the hands of a Christian Viking made her militantly anti-Christian and as the series progresses, Signe becomes the leader of the last Viking pagan holdouts against the rising tide of Christianity that is flooding Scandinavia. Mentored by the strong female leader of Kattegat, The Jarl, Signe leads the “last holdouts” in defence of a Viking Holy City against Christian Vikings and will eventually begin a personal quest to find a new home for them. Despite the hardened pagan views, she is romantically drawn into a relationship with the final main lead: a Christian Viking named Torsen.

Watch the audition video for “Signe” from Yassica Switakowski

“Torsen”

The official character for “Torsen” is the following:

If Vidar is rough around the edges, Torsen is smooth and polished. Though every bit the warrior as Vidar, Torsen comes from Viking royal stock, close to the seat of Norse power and charismatic leader. Having just escaped the massacre of St. Brice’s Day Torsen is an active part of a great retribution force being assembled by King Kaden and one of his chief lieutenants. His relationship with Vidar, forged on the battlefields of Season 1 will grow as the series progresses.

Watch the audition tape for Torsen from Mitchell Slater

Harold Harada (Codename: Kaden I)

The official character description for “Kaden” is as follows:

Son of a king of Denmark, wise, savvy and ruthless, Kaden is guided by two different voices: Alienor, his politically astute queen and Earl Colby, a scheming and ambitious Anglo-Saxon councellor.

Watch the audition tape for “King Kaden” below:

Besides series regulars who we revealed above and whose actors are still unknown, there are a few who are known. We’re happy to reveal that German actress Yvonne Mai has been cast in Vikings: Valhalla to play a character named Merin. Secondly, Bill Murphy will play the character named Odgar in Season 1. And lastly, we have Ethan Dillon whose role is currently unknown, although we know it is a recurring role.

From left: Yvonne Mai, Bill Murphy and Ethan Dillon

What is the production status of Vikings: Valhalla?

Official Production Status: Production restarted (Last Updated: 08/25/2020)

An early spanner was thrown into the works after two of the series producers, Morgan O’Sullivan and James Flynn, appeared in high court after accusations were made against them.

The German film company W2 Filmproduktion Vertriebs GmbH has claimed that O’Sullivan and Flynn diverted €40 Million of funds out of Octagon Films Ltd, a production firm they all have shares in. The court case continued in January 2020.

Pre-production for Vikings: Valhalla had started earlier this year, but was halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was resumed in July and now we are hearing that filming has started in Ashford Studios, Ireland as of August 2020.

We don’t know exactly how long it will last, but originally it was planned to be from March 2020 to October. Considering they take roughly the same amount of time, we should expect the first season of Vikings: Valhalla to wrap around Spring 2021 with a release later that year or even the beginning of 2022.

Where will Vikings: Valhalla be filmed?

As mentioned above, pre-production has already resumed and the location is a very dear and familiar place for Vikings fans: Ashford Studios, Wicklow, Ireland. This is the place where most of the original Vikings series was being filmed for many years. To add to that, back in 2019, after filming of the final season of Vikings was finished, Ashford Studios secured permission for a €90m expansion, allowing them to build five new studios and support space. This will likely reflect on the production quality of Vikings: Valhalla.

With the main production hub being the same for Valhalla, we can expect to see many familiar external Irish locations that are just nearby. We can also expect many of the same crew working on the Vikings spinoff.

How many episodes will Vikings: Valhalla air?

It has been confirmed that 24 episodes of Vikings: Valhalla have been ordered thus far. That is a lot of episodes for Netflix to commit to considering the typical amount is anywhere between eight and thirteen.

Thanks to Vikings already on a schedule that splits seasons in half, we’d expect the first season of Vikings: Valhalla to do the same. This means there would be twelve episodes for Vikings: Valhalla season 1.

What else to expect from Vikings: Valhalla

It has already been confirmed that we’ll be seeing the following historical figures in action: Leif Erikson, Freydis, Harald Hardrada, and William the Conqueror.

Who is Leif Erikson?

One of the most famous Vikings from the era, Leif Erikson was a Norse explorer born in Iceland. He has been acknowledged by historians as the first European to have set foot on the continent of North America, hundreds of years before Christopher Colombus.

Leif Erikson

Who is Freydís Eiríksdóttir

The sister of Norse explorer Leif Erikson. Fierce and brave, Freydís took a ship of men to reap the profits of Vinland and to set up her own colony. After the conflict with an opposing group of settlers, this leads to a massacre that made the warrioress famous in the Greenland Saga.

Freydís Eiríksdóttir

Harald Hardrada

The King of Norway from 1046 to 1066, Harold Hardrada lead an invasion force against the Kingdom of England during a power struggle for the throne. Upon landing in England, he was eventually fought against the defending force of King Harold Godwinson at the Battle of Stamford Bridge, and would subsequently lose the fight dying during the battle.

Harold Hardrada

King Harold Godwinson

The last Anglo-Saxon king in English history, after the victory at Stamford Bridge, King Harold had to face off against the invading force of William the Conqueror from Normandy. At the Battle of Hastings, the future of England was decided after Harold died in battle.

King Harold Godwinson

William the Conqueror

The descendant of Rollo, William the Conqueror laid claim to the English throne after the death of King Edward the Confessor. At the Battle of Hastings, William was victorious in his conquest becoming the first king of House of Normandy. William conquering England is wildly acknowledged as the end of the Viking Age, and the beginning of the German Iron Age in Britain.

William the Conqueror

Will the original Vikings series be coming to Netflix?

Unlike Lucifer and Designated Survivor, Vikings: Valhalla is not a continuation of Vikings and is instead a spin-off. This is important because previously, Netflix US eventually picked up all of the seasons from canceled network shows.

Vikings is currently available on Hulu and Amazon in the US, but the deal for Vikings: Valhalla is not likely to include Netflix receiving all six seasons of Vikings. This doesn’t mean Netflix won’t pursue Vikings when the license is up at Hulu and Amazon.

Are you excited for the release of Vikings: Valhalla? Let us know in the comments below!

Editor’s note: includes additional reporting from Tigran Asatryan.