Considering how much people loved the bloody historical drama, Vikings, which amassed an extremely devoted fan base across six seasons on History, it came as no great surprise when its sequel spinoff, Vikings: Valhalla, took over the beloved franchise, came to Netflix as part of the 2022 TV schedule, and quickly became another historical fan favorite. The series delivered tons of action throughout its eight episodes, and the Season 1 ending offered fans a number of twists and surprising double crosses to get everyone interested in what might come next.
This begs the question, though… what will come next? Which cast members will return? Do we know when we’ll see it? Is Leif going to be even more dangerous this time around? Well, we have answers to those questions and more for you right now!
Vikings: Valhalla Season 2 Will Debut On January 12, 2023
The blockbuster first season left us with plenty of questions that Vikings: Valhalla needs to answer, and Netflix did renew the series in early March 2022. However, while the streaming giant wasn’t about to burn through two seasons of one of their newest hits in one year, that doesn’t mean that we will have an extended wait yet before we get to watch Harald go all Berserker in battle again. The new year will be less than two weeks old when we get to tune back in to everyone’s schemes and adventures, as Vikings: Valhalla Season 2 will hit Netflix on January 12!
The news was announced at the end of the recently released trailer, which we’ll talk about a bit more, later.
Season 2 Filmed In 2021 And Production Wrapped In November Of That Year
That’s right! Not only is Vikings: Valhalla Season 2 definitely a-go, but Netflix confirmed in its renewal announcement that the second set of episodes had already filmed in 2021, meaning that principal photography has been done for over a year now. Stunt performer Caroline Simonnet took to Instagram in early November of that year, and let her followers know that filming on the “EPIC” second season had wrapped production in Ireland.
Most Of The Main Cast Is Expected To Return
Viewers who loved the Vikings: Valhalla cast and how they brought their frequently fighting characters to life are very much in luck. The main cast is expected to return for the new season, meaning that we’ll get more of Leo Suter (Harald), Frida Gustavsson (Freydís), Sam Corlett (Leif), Bradley Freegard (King Canute), Pollyanna McIntosh (Queen Ælfgifu), Jóhannes Jóhannesson (Olaf), Laura Berlin (Queen Emma), David Oakes (Godwin), and other favorites in Season 2 of the well-reviewed hit. It’s worth noting that the only one who wasn’t seen in the trailer is McIntosh, but whether or not that tells us anything about the future of her character is still uncertain.
As you might imagine, though, it’s unlikely we’ll see stars like Caroline Henderson (who played Jarl Haakon), Lujza Richter (Leif’s hard-fighting love, Liv), Asbjørn Krogh Nissen (Jarl Kåre), or Louis Davison (Prince Edmund), as their characters did not make it out of the first season of battles and treacherous machinations with their hearts still beating.
Several New Cast Members Have Also Been Announced
Now, if you were hoping that the new season would bring with it more characters for our favorites to do battle with, befriend, or…I don’t know, behead, then you are getting your wish. When the trailer debuted, Tudum revealed that we’ll see at least four new cast members: Bradley James (Merlin) plays Harekr, ruler of Jómsborg, which was a legendary home for pagan Vikings; Hayat Kamille (Death on the Nile) portrays Mariam, an astronomer who left Constantinople to study meteorites and has found herself stuck in Novgorod; Marcin Dorociński (The Queen’s Gambit) is Yaroslav the Wise, the warrior ruler of Kyivan Rus, who just so happens to also be uncle to Harald and Olaf; and Sofya Lebedeva, who plays Elena, the tough daughter of a nobleman in Kyivan Rus.
While this actor hasn’t been formally announced by the streamer, there does seem to be another, very important new player on the horizon for Vikings: Valhalla. In early May of 2022, Deadline reported that Florian Munteanu, who’s best known for playing Viktor Drago in Creed II and Razor Fist in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, had been added to the cast. However, it’s not clear if Munteanu (who was recently in The Contractor with Chris Pine, and will soon be seen as Krieg in the Borderlands adaptation) is on board for Season 2, the following season, or, possibly, both installments. Either way, he’s set to portray another real life character, general of the Byzantine Empire, George Maniakes.
We’re Going To See “Old Testament Leif” In Season 2
As fans will probably recall, while Leif was a beast in battle, he was quite kind and gentle away from a fight. When Liv was cut down by Olaf right in front of him in the emotional finale, however, that appeared to change. As star Sam Corlett explained to TV Guide:
Throughout the season he feels a lot of the responsibility for these lives. A lot of them get lost, and towards the end, he has a beautiful relationship with Liv, who passes away in his arms. There's a deep sense of grief. There's a deep sense of shame. That comes out in a very fierce, violent, and primal way.
It sounds a lot like viewers who were wondering if we’d see Leif become more like his legendarily dangerous dad, permanently, after that shocking loss were on to something. Showrunner Jeb Stuart told the outlet:
As Leif says to Liv at one point, 'There's this dark part of me that I keep kind of under wraps,' and as long as she's in his world, he's able to move forward. When she's violently taken out of his world by Olaf, I think that the inner Erik the Red is coming out. We call that sort of the Old Testament Leif, and you'll see that in Season 2.
Oh, boy. I’m sorry for Leif, but, honestly? I cannot wait!
The Vikings Will “Explore” More In Season 2
We did see (or hear about) many of the characters’ travels in Season 1, with some heading to England and taking down that famous bridge, Stuart revealed that Season 2 will see them go even further. In March 2022, he told Newsweek:
I think in Season 2, [viewers] will see the Vikings sort of thrust out of Scandinavia, which is a very interesting piece. We know that the Vikings traveled…They were great traders…So you can probably guess that my Vikings are going to get on their boats and explore a little bit.
When the trailer was released, he also told Tudum:
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. 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.
Stuart added that while they’ll meet people who share a lot of similarities with them, they’ll “still run into trouble” and “stir the pot,” which should be bloody good fun to see!
You Can Watch The Vikings: Valhalla Season 2 Trailer Now
If you’re tired of looking at all these words and just want to get a taste of the action in the new season, well, who am I to disappoint you? Observe…
Oh, boy! It looks like Vikings: Valhalla Season 2 will be yet another thrilling ride filled with a number of stunning twists for those who tune in, and you can bet I’ll be one of them as soon as the new season hits Netflix!
