Vikings Valhalla season 2: release date, plot, trailer, new characters and more
Batten down the hatches, because Vikings Valhalla season 2 is now on Netflix, with plenty of battles, bloodshed and betrayal on the cards. (Note spoilers ahead if you've not seen Vikings Valhalla season 1!)
Set at the beginning of the 11th century, the action-packed historical drama follows the adventures of Leif Eriksson (Sam Corlett), his sister Freydís Eiríksdóttir (Frida Gustavsson) and Harald Hardrada (Leo Suter), in an epic journey set during the final stages of the Viking age.
The first series was one of Netflix's most popular shows of the year and the second season rejoins the story after the nail-biting cliffhanger, which saw a blood-covered Leif screaming in agony following the death of his love interest Liv (Lujza Richter) during the fall of Kategatt.
But where do our Nordic heroes go from here? Here's everything we know about Vikings Valhalla season 2...
Vikings Valhalla season 2 release date
Vikings Valhalla season 2 landed on Netflix on January 12, 2023, and all eight episodes are now available to stream worldwide.
Yet that's not the only good news, because the show's creator has confirmed a third season is already in the works and could be hitting our screens in early 2024.
The first season was the most-watched show on Netflix within 24 hours of its release in early 2022.
"Thank you to the millions of you who have watched (and rewatched!) season one," said showrunner and creator Jeb Stuart in an official statement from Netflix. "The numbers have been mind-boggling and beyond my wildest expectations. I'm thrilled to be able to confirm that we wrapped and are already editing season two, and that production will start soon on season three.
"While the storylines for Leif, Freydís, Harald, Olaf, Canute and the rest of our amazing cast are secret, I can say without hesitation that their journeys will be even more epic than what you’ve seen so far.”
Vikings Valhalla season 2 plot
The second season picks up the story in the immediate aftermath of the tragic fall of Kattegat, an event that has made Leif, Freydís and Harald fugitives in Scandinavia.
“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,” said show creator Jeb Stuart when speaking to Tudum.
“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.”
“Season 2 will show that sometimes when you hang out with people that are just like you, eat like you, talk like you, you can still run into trouble. 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. So we put together this motley crew of nobles, Muslim astronomers and con men, and they shove off from Novgorod.”
Jeb Stuart also hinted the Vikings will be exploring the wider world in an interview with Newsweek.
"They were great traders. So they went to Constantinople, they went to Egypt, they went through the Middle East," he said. "Viking DNA is found almost all over that part of Europe. They went to the Iberian Peninsula and obviously England and Ireland.
"So you can probably guess that my Vikings are going to get on their boats and explore a little bit."
There could be romance on the cards for Harald and Freydís, as Leo Suter, who plays Harald, revelaed to Digital Spy earlier this year.
"These are two people who are... they have a lot to talk about and they work so well together. But at the same time, there are big forces and big passions that are pulling them apart, and as with any sort of love story, there's... it's so simple in some respects, but also so complicated in other ways."
The official synopsis from Netflix says: "Set over a thousand years ago in the early 11th century, Vikings Valhalla chronicles the heroic adventures of some of the most famous Vikings who ever lived — the legendary explorer Leif Eriksson, his fiery and headstrong sister Freydis Eriksdotter, and the ambitious Nordic prince Harald Sigurdsson.
"Season two finds our heroes shortly after the tragic fall of Kattegat; an event that has shattered their dreams and altered their destinies. Finding themselves suddenly fugitives in Scandinavia they are forced to test their ambitions and courage in worlds beyond the fjords of Kattegat."
Vikings Valhalla season 2 cast
Sam Corlett (Leif), Frida Gustavsson (Freydís Eiríksdóttir) and Leo Suter (Harald Sigurdsson) will all be back for more pillaging and Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson, who plays the power-hungry Olaf, is also likely to make a return.
Soren Pilmark (King Sweyn Forkbeard) and Bradley Freegard (King Canute) are also likely to be sailing back in the thick of the action.
Yet there are plenty of new characters to get to know in season 2...
Harekr (Bradley James)
“Harekr is the ruler of Jómsborg, a sort of legendary Viking place where the uber-pagan Vikings lived. 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," Jeb Stuart told Tudum. "The Jomsvikings were very strict and rigid, so Harekr has very, very, very specific rules that he lives by. That’s how the Jomsvikings rolled, they were very loyal to their leader. They would fight to the death, even when they didn’t sometimes think that their leader was right.”
Mariam (Hayat Kamille)
“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," explains Stuart. "Our Mariam is an astronomer who’s stuck in Novgorod. She went north in our telling of the story, north from Constantinople to study the heavens, and specifically, to study the meteorites and that sort of thing. She’s a polyglot and can also read Latin, Greek, Arabic and Russian.”
Yaroslav the Wise (Marcin Doroci&#ccddbb;ski)
Yaroslav the Wise, the warrior ruler of Kyivan Rus, is the uncle to both Olaf and Harald," says Stuart. "He’s played by Marcin Doroci&#ccddbb;ski, the Polish actor who was in The Queen’s Gambit, where he played a Soviet chess player. He’s got this wonderful wit that audiences will really enjoy, like how he doesn’t really give Harald a whole lot of ground. He’s got that tough-love uncle thing.”
Elena (Sofya Lebedeva)
“Elena’s one of my favorite characters," explains Stuart. "She's the resilient daughter of a noble man from Kyivan Rus.”
George Maniakes (Florian Munteanu)
Munteanu will play Byzantine Empire General George Maniakes according to Deadline. Maniakes was a real Greek leader helped recapture Sicily in 1038 with the assistance of Harald and went down in legend for his immense strength and size.
Queen Ælfgifu (Pollyanna McIntosh)
The Walking Dead star Pollyanna McIntosh will also be joining the show as Queen Ælfgifu. The character is based on the real life regent of Norway from 1030 to 1035.
Vikings Valhalla season 2 trailer
The official trailer for Vikings: Valhalla season 2 has arrived, promising more of what Vikings are good at: epic action. Watch below.
Check out a previously released first look here.
