Vikings: Valhalla season 3 is out this year and we now have a confirmed release date for the final chapter in Leif, Freydis, and Harald's story.
Yes, Netflix has confirmed that the third season of Vikings: Valhalla will be its last. There is some good news, however. The show's belated return is just weeks away and we can celebrate the occasion with a tankard of ale (plus new images and a trailer, your call). You can find those below and peppered throughout our guide to Vikings: Valhalla season 3 as we wait patiently for it to hit our screens.
Then, once you've caught up on all the action, be sure to check out the latest on more of Netflix's big shows, including One Piece season 2 and The Witcher season 4.
Vikings: Valhalla season 3 release date
Vikings: Valhalla season 3, as per Netflix, is releasing on July 11, 2024.
Remarkable, filming for a third season began in mid-2022 and long since wrapped, so the end of this Scandinavian saga has been a long time in coming.
Vikings: Valhalla season 3 cast: new characters and returning faces
Leif (Sam Corlett), Harald (Leo Suter), and Freydis (Frida Gustavsson) are all returning in season 3. The main cast will also consist of Queen Emma (Laura Berlin), Godwin (David Oakes), King Canute (Bradley Freegard), with Queen Aelfgifu (Pollyanna McIntosh), and Elena (Sofya Lebedeva) also likely staying put.
The major casualty of the second season was Harald’s half-brother Olaf (Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson), slain at the hand of Freydis. While Vikings hasn’t shied away from the supernatural on occasion, we’d be surprised if the pagan hunter shows up again.
Erik the Red, meanwhile, is the season’s first confirmed newcomer. The legendary Viking (and father of Freydis and Leif) will be played by The Boys actor Goran Visnjic. Florian Munteanu (Shang-Chi) will play Maniakes, a "a fearless Byzantine general who answers only to the Emir."
Vikings: Valhalla season 3 story: what’s next for Leif, Harald, and Freydis?
While it’s always dangerous to speculate with where Vikings might go next, it’s clear that Leif and Harald will continue to expand the show’s horizons in Constantinople after the Vikings: Valhalla season 2 ending.
Leif, as is obvious from the second season, is a changed man: slowly embracing the Christian faith and wanting to learn more about the world, he’s all set to head to Mariam’s house in the Byzantine city so he can further his knowledge. The season 3 trailer (which you can see below) suggests he's about to set sail and discover more uncharted territory to the west.
Harald, though, isn’t thinking with his brain. He’s got eyes for Elena, the mysterious woman who accompanied him on the trip to Constantinople. It’s revealed that she is set to be wed to the Emperor, meaning that any connection between the pair might have to be in secret – should Harald want to keep his head.
Freydis’ journey, meanwhile, is much more open-ended. She has brokered peace with Kattegat (and, by definition, Canute and Forkbeard). With that conflict in the past, she can focus on raising her newborn son, who is shown to be a young child in the latest footage. But new threats can arrive at any moment. As the last holdout of the pagan ways, it could be up to her to lead a fightback against any new enemies if the Vikings are put in danger. If the first look photos (see above) are any indication, it appears that the attempt to snuff out any non-Christian beliefs is going to be upped further.
Finally, in London, Queen Emma has Godwin under her thumb. The Earl of Wessex may have got his wish by maneuvering his way into a marriage with Canute’s niece Gytha, but Emma uncovered secrets about his past in the process. With that valuable information – something that she could easily pass on to Canute – Godwin could end up being Emma’s attack dog if the precarious political situation in England starts to shift.
While Netflix has only ordered three seasons of Vikings: Valhalla, creator Jeb Stuart previously told us he has designs on reaching the end of the Viking era in 1066.
"Most historians think that the end of the Vikings era is 1066. I’d love to do that. For me, that’ll take more than three seasons. It would be [the endgame]. There’s a lot of great history out there, an enormous amount of growth on all these characters." While Netflix's announcement of Vikings: Valhalla season 3 might put paid to that dream for now, there's always a chance things could be picked up in a future series.
History may also point us in the direction of what happens in season 3. No (real world) spoilers here, but Harald is set to spend a lot of his time away from his beloved Norway in Constantinople. In an interview with Collider, creator Jeb Stuart said that "change of culture" will be key moving forward for the series.
"I knew where Season 3 was going to be because of that change of culture, I knew that we have to eventually get to the New World," Stuart teased. "So what's in the toolbox? How do we fill up Leif's toolbox, and what does Freydis bring to get these people, who are the last hold out of the Pagan faith? And we know what's happening in Europe at that time. So it's exciting for us."
In that same interview, Stuart also floated the idea of possible time jumps taking place. If the series – as is Stuart’s wont – is heading to 1066, we might skip over years (and decades) in the coming seasons.
Vikings: Valhalla season 3 trailer
The first trailer for Vikings: Valhalla season 3 is here and, predictably, it's filled with guts, gore, and more than one weapon being swung in anger.
All roads, it seem, lead back home – and there's a time jump in store for viewers as Leif and Harald appear to be getting slightly antsy at their current predicament in Constantinople after seven years away.
Freydis will likely have to deal with any uprising at Kattegat as her pagan ways become a thing of the past. The main trio's paths will likely cross once more, however, if the trailer is any indication.
Canute is also at a crossroads of his own, having to bow down and "kiss the ring" of a new authority of His Holiness. The ultimate fate of England – unless you know your 11th-Century history, that is – could be a major concern in the final season.
Where to watch Vikings: Valhalla
The first two seasons of Vikings: Valhalla are currently available to stream on Netflix. All six seasons of the original Vikings series, set a century before the events of Valhalla, can be watched on Prime Video.
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