Vikings: Valhalla boss teases season 2, previews new characters

When Netflix first announced its Vikings sequel series Vikings: Valhalla, the streamer green-lit two seasons from the get-go; given Netflix’s tendency to cancel popular shows after one season, that’s notable. The two-season order has been somewhat vindicated so far, with the debut season being pretty successful. Enter season 2.

Vikings: Valhalla season 1 is set around 100 years after the final episode of Vikings. We follow a completely new generation of Norse heroes, including Leif Erikson (Sam Corlett), Harald Sigurdsson (Leo Sutter) and Freydís Eriksdotter (Frida Gustavsson). The series opens with the horrific cleansing of all Danes within Danelaw, England, known as the St. Brice’s Day massacre. That sets the stage for a story of revenge against the English.

Going into season 2, Stuart teased the further adventures of Harald, Leif and Freydís. “The whole concept of Season 2 is that we take these three heroes who are in Scandinavia and blow them out of their comfort zones,” he told Netflix. “Season 2 for Harald and Leif is a road trip: It’s Thelma and Louise on the Dnieper River. The two of them will begin this incredible journey. Freydís has to go to Pomerania, which is a very difficult environment.”

Sure, the Vikings love to travel and pillage and cause chaos around the world… but they’re also very good at fighting amongst themselves. “Season 2 will show that sometimes when you hang out with the people that are just like you, eat like you, talk like you, you can still run into trouble,” Stuart said. “So you need to stir the pot, which I think is what the Vikings did. And they did it beautifully, better than probably any other culture out there.”

Meet the new Vikings!

As we move into a new season, prepare to meet many more famous Vikings, including…

Harekr (Bradley James)

The powerful leader of a pagan community, Harekr is not the kinda guy you want to mess around with. “Harekr is the ruler of Jómsborg, a sort of legendary Viking place where the uber-pagan Vikings lived,” Stuart said. “He’s a great warrior, but since he’s pagan, he’s got a bull’s-eye on his back for any of our pagan hunters, like Olaf.”

Mariam (Hayat Kamille)

Miriam is perhaps the most intelligent person of the age. “Mariam is one of my favorite characters. Her name is a nod and sign of respect to Mariam al-Astrulabi, the great astronomer, navigator and mathematician from the House of Wisdom in Baghdad. Our Mariam is an astronomer who’s stuck in Novgorod.“

Yaroslav the Wise (Marcin Dorociński)

You might recognize Marcin Dorociński from his roles in The Queens Gambit to the upcoming Mission Impossible movie. In Valhalla he plays Yaroslav, the ruler of Kyivan Rus and uncle of Olaf and Harald.

“He’s got this wonderful wit that audiences will really enjoy, like how he doesn’t really give Harald a whole lot of ground,” Stuart said. “He’s got that tough-love uncle thing.”

Elena (Sofya Lebedeva)

Elena is the daughter of Yaroslav and a total badass in her own right. She’s one of Stuart’s favorites!

Vikings: Valhalla season 2 premieres on Netflix on January 12!

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