Vikings: Valhalla will have “a lot more action” than original series

For six seasons, Vikings had fans hooked watching the spoils of legendary warrior Ragnar Lothbrok and his sons. Now, Netflix is bringing a spinoff to our screens, set around 100 years later and following an entirely new generation of power-hungry Norsemen, including Leif Eriksson, Freydis Eriksdotter, Harald Hardrada, and many more!

Vikings was never meant to be a totally accurate depiction of history. The series contains several fantastical elements, and also condenses decades of history into just a few years. But it’s still a fun ride that brings legendary Viking warriors together in a way that’s entertaining and brutal. The spinoff appears to be no different. And with action mastermind Jeb Stuart (the writer of Die Hard) as showrunner, the new series will be more high-octane than ever. Simply take a look at the first full trailer where the Vikings go to battle against the English to see what we mean:

Meet the cast of Vikings: Valhalla

Speaking to IGN, Stuart gave a brief rundown on each of the three central characters, starting with perhaps the most famous Vikings of all time, Leif Eriksson (Sam Corlett). “Well, we know Leif Eriksson was first European explorer sort of credited to have found the New World,” Stuart said. “So you can kind of bet that we’ll be heading that way at some point in the series.”

"One thing we do know about Leif Eriksson other than the explorer of the New World is that he became a Christian and we do know that Freydis and Erik the Red, his father, never went over to Christianity. So there’s a lot to look forward to down the road on them."

Next up, we have Harald Sigurdsson (Leo Suter), who became the King of Norway and fought for the English throne. And finally there’s Leif Erikson’s sister Freydis (Frida Gustavsson). “The Icelandic sagas talk a lot about Freydis,” Stuart said. “Her piece is very important in all of this.”

Even though Vikings writer Michael Hirst is still an executive producer on Valhalla, he is happy to take a back seat and see an interpretation from another writer’s vision. As a result, this spinoff has a completely different tone from the original series. Expect a lot more action:

"I couldn’t write a Michael Hirst script if you paid me and I do a lot of things for pay, okay? So it just had to be, this show has a lot more action to it. It has a different pacing to it. It still has that sort of, I hope it still has the Viking DNA to it because I love it as a fan, but I’m pretty upfront about the fact, and Michael knows this, that I write differently and I want to see a different show. So I hope that you, as a fan, can sort of see the transition (between) the two different shows."

Hirst’s writing contained plenty of action. I can only imagine how much action Stuart’s show will have.

We’re getting multiple seasons of Vikings: Valhalla

Over the years, Netflix has gained a spotty reputation when it comes to canceling shows. Take the recent cancellation of Cowboy Bebop, for example, or when they dropped their popular Marvel series. However, season 2 of Vikings: Valhalla has already been filmed. What’s more, Jeb Stuart recently told Entertainment Weekly that the third season is already in progress. “We’re already in prep on season 3,” he said. “There’s a lot under the dam already that is exciting and big.”

Vikings: Valhalla premieres on February 25 on Netflix.

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