If you've been down in the dumps ever since it was revealed that the upcoming sixth season
of History's drama series Vikings would be its last, it's time to pick yourself back
up.
A new Vikings spin-off series has been announced, and soon Vikings: Valhalla will be streaming
on Netflix.
But first, a warning: Spoilers for Vikings ahead!
Before you start scrolling through Netflix's thousands of offerings looking for Valhalla,
know this: No release date has yet been announced for the series.
Considering that the show's existence was only confirmed in November 2019, Netflix is
likely nowhere near announcing a start date for the series.
For comparison, just take a look at The Witcher.
That show was first announced way back in May 2017, but it wasn't until Halloween of
2019 - two-and-a-half years later - that Netflix announced the release date.
That debut date, by the way, was December 20, 2019 - meaning it wasn't announced until
less than two months before the premiere.
While Vikings: Valhalla may not have quite as long of a wait given that it's spinning
off from a property instead of building one from the ground up, there's no reason to believe
that Netflix will announce a release date for the show anytime soon.
It's also worth mentioning that, since Vikings: Valhalla is meant to be a follow-up to Vikings,
fans won't see it until after the original series ends.
But forget about the question of when you'll see it; a better question is, what exactly
is this spinoff going to be about?
If there's one thing that Vikings has been great at doing, it's killing off its main
characters.
Season 3 saw the deaths of Earl Haraldson's widow Siggy and the priest Athelstan.
Vikings season 4 knocked off Ragnar's second wife Aslaug, his friend and rival King Ecbert,
and most shockingly of all, Ragnar himself, who up until that point had been the series'
main protagonist.
"Your father was a great hero.
Perhaps the greatest hero of our race.
And that is why we have answered your summons.”
As more characters were added in season 5, the bodies continued to pile up, with seemingly
no character being safe from week to week.
By the time Vikings concludes its run, it's possible that there won't even be any main
Vikings cast members left alive to return for Valhalla.
And frankly, fans shouldn't expect there to be.
It has been confirmed that the new series will take place around 100 years after the
current show, meaning that even the youngest Vikings characters will be dead and gone by
then.
Instead, Vikings: Valhalla will feature all-new characters based on even more historical figures
from Norse legend.
Some of the main characters of the new series will reportedly be such legendary figures
as Leif Erikson, Harald Hardrada, William the Conqueror, and more.
Even though the 100-year time gap will make things tricky, Alexander Ludwig has suggested
that his character, Bjorn Ironside, may not have finished his Vikings journey.
Whether that means some kind of flashback sequence on the new spin-off series or an
appearance in a potential feature film remains to be seen.
It's just nice to know Ludwig isn't quite ready to leave the world of Vikings behind.
Since the spin-off was announced only recently, plot details have been scarce.
But that doesn't mean we can't make a few educated guesses as to what kinds of stories
Vikings: Valhalla will be looking to tell, since we know a few of the main characters.
And to do that, we'll look to real Viking history.
Leif Erikson is arguably the most famous of the lot.
He has a pretty big claim to fame, as he's believed to be the first European to discover
North America - rather than that imposter Christopher Columbus.
"You're a phony!
Hey everybody!
This guy's a great, big phony!"
Not only that, but Leif Erikson is said to have done so a whole half-millennium before
Columbus sailed the ocean blue, setting foot in a land he dubbed "Vinland" back in the
11th century.
Next is Harald Hardrada.
Born about 45 years after Leif Erikson, he's regarded as the last great Viking King, having
fought for control of Norway and Denmark before meeting his end during an invasion of England.
His successor, in some respects, was his contemporary - the Norman King William the Conqueror, who
wasn't a Viking but claimed Viking ancestry as a descendent of the one-and-only Rollo.
William conquered England following Harald Hardrada's defeat, becoming its king.
The pair's respective battles will almost certainly factor into the plot of Vikings:
Valhalla.
Check out one of our newest videos right here!
Plus, even more Looper videos about your favorite movies and TV shows are coming soon.
Subscribe to our YouTube channel and hit the bell so you don't miss a single one.