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The genre-defying television series Vikings debuted on the History channel in March 2013. The series was inspired by the sagas of Ragnar Lodbrok, a semi-mythical Norse hero known for being the scourge of Anglo-Saxon England and West Francia. The appeal of television programs based on different legends is well-known in the film industry, and Vikings' six-season tales of the early medieval Scandinavian Norsemen elevated this enthusiasm to a new level. After its sixth season, the historical drama Vikings ended, but its spin-off, Vikings: Valhalla was launched on Netflix for a more extensive audience base and was a big success with viewers. The Battle of Stamford Bridge in 1066 served as the turning point in the Viking Age, which was the subject of the Netflix series. Developed by Jeb Stuart, Vikings: Valhalla will soon be returning with its Season 2 on Netflix, continuing this sword-swinging, historical adventure, with lots of fights, murder, and betrayal in store.
The series has already been renewed for a third season as well and Season 2's release is inching ever closer. So here is everything we know so far about the anticipated series coming to Netflix this January 2023.
When and Where Is Vikings: Valhalla Season 2 Premiering?
Within 24 hours of its premiere in early 2022, Vikings: Valhalla's first season had the highest number of viewers on Netflix. The series was officially renewed for a second and third season in March 2022 after receiving a 24-episode order in November 2019. On November 21, Netflix revealed that the eagerly awaited Vikings: Valhalla Season 2 will debut on January 12, 2023. Like the first season, Season 2 will be available to stream only on Netflix. The first season's eight episodes debuted on the platform on February 25, 2022, and reportedly garnered over 80 million hours of viewing in its first two days on the site. The show's enormous success led to the series being formally renewed for a second and third season in March 2022. Ahead of the release, we at Collider hosted a special screening of the Season 2 premiere as well, held on December 7 in L.A., where we were joined by the creator and cast for a Q&A and reception.
Is There a Trailer for Vikings: Valhalla Season 2?
Netflix dropped a first-look teaser for the exciting new season on September 24, 2022. Following this, Netflix also dropped the first official images from Vikings: Valhalla Season 2 in November 2022 ahead of the return of the historical action drama. The first-look teaser features the Viking heroes Leif Eriksson, Freydis Eriksdotter, and Harald Sigurdsson, preparing to make a desperate last stand against Olaf and his warriors. The video boasts stunning visuals depicting the start of a destructive fight with fire cannonball attacks. A full-length trailer was released recently as well, which you can see below:
What Is the Plot of Vikings: Valhalla Season 2?
The second season will pick up where the first left off, with a nail-biting cliffhanger that shows a blood-covered Leif screaming in anguish after losing his love interest Liv in his arms. Harald Harefoot, the grandson of Forkbeard, finds numerous of Kre's companions dead and a furious Leif covered in blood. Leif, Freyd, and Harald's hopes and futures are affected by the catastrophic fall of Kattegat, which is where Season 2 begins off shortly after. They are forced to put their dreams and bravery to the test in worlds outside their comfortable fjords when they find themselves unexpectedly on the run in Scandinavia. According to a statement released by Netflix, the show's creator, Jeb Stuart said, "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 also travels well beyond Northern Europe and Scandinavia.
Season 2 will have plenty of storylines and character arcs to cover. As a result of Freydis' intervention, Harald and Freydis' interfaith romance will be further explored in Season 2. Separately, Harald will attempt to become King of Norway, which will be simpler now that Olaf has vanished, and Freydis will continue to discover what it means to be "The Last Daughter of Uppsala." Given that he lost control in the finale of Season 1, Leif will presumably be telling his own story as well.
Who Are the New and Returning Cast and Characters in Vikings: Valhalla Season 2?
The majority of the main characters of Vikings: Valhalla Season 1 remain in place and are set up for further adventures in the second season. Vikings: Valhalla Season 2’s cast will again be led by Sam Corlett as Leif Eriksson, Frida Gustavsson as Freydís Eiríksdóttir, and Leo Suter as Harald Sigurdsson. As described by the show's creator Jeb Stuart, a motley gang of lords, astronomers, and con men will be among the interesting new characters that viewers will get to meet in Season 2. The season covers the world outside of Scandinavia and Northern Europe, and thus, introduces new characters to keep the show going. So far, we know of four new characters that will be crucial to the plot line of the second season.
BBC TV series Merlin star Bradley James will portray the new character Harekr, who is the ruler of Jómsborg, a legendary Viking settlement where the ultra-pagans of the Viking Age lived. Despite being a skilled fighter, he has a target on his back for hunters like Olaf since he is a pagan. Harekr adheres to a set of very strict standards as a true Jomsviking. The Jomsvikings were historically devoted to their king and would battle to the death even if they occasionally disagreed with their leader's judgment.
The actress Hayat Kamille, known for Mosul (2019), Murder on the Orient Express (2017), and Death on the Nile (2022), will take on the role of Mariam, possibly named after Mariam al-Astrulabi, a renowned astronomer, navigator, and mathematician from Baghdad's House of Wisdom. In Vikings, Mariam is an astronomer stranded in Novgorod. She left Constantinople and traveled up north to observe the stars, more precisely to research meteorites. She is multilingual and is proficient in Latin, Greek, Arabic, and Russian.
Well known for his portrayals of conflicted, troubled characters, film, television, and stage actor Marcin Dorociński will be seen playing Yaroslav the Wise in Season 2 of Vikings: Valhalla. Yaroslav is the warrior ruler of Kyivan Rus. He is also the uncle of both Olaf and Harald. Recently seen in The Queen’s Gambit, where he played a Soviet chess player, there is huge excitement around his new role in the upcoming season. The fourth new character is called Eleana, played by Sofya Lebedeva. She is the tenacious daughter of a noble Kyivan Rus person. Although Netflix has not provided many details about her character, the intrigue surrounding her is helping to raise interest in the show. In the British TV series McMafia, Sofya Lebedeva previously achieved fame for her portrayal of a girl who had been a victim of sex trafficking. Nikolai Kinski will also star as Emperor Romanos, along with Florian Munteanu as George Maniakes, Tolga Safer as Kurya, Jack Hickey as Richard II, Duke of Normandy, and Joakim Nätterqvist as Birkir.
Who Is Making Vikings: Valhalla Season 2?
Jeb Stuart returns as the creator of the series for Season 2. Other Executive Producers for the series include original Vikings creator Michael Hirst and Sherry Marsh, along with Morgan O'Sullivan, Sheila Hockin, Steve Stark, James Flynn, John Weber, Niels Arden Oplev, Alan Gasmer, and Paul Buccieri. The show's music was composed by Trevor Morris.