Fans of Vikings: Valhalla can relaxation straightforward figuring out that it is all beneath management—from a storytelling standpoint anyway. By the tip of Season 1, issues in Kattegat and in England are getting a little bit messy, to say the least. Fortunately, nevertheless, as soon as Season 2 returns on January 12, at the same time as issues may worsen for the characters, it is all going in keeping with plan, in keeping with showrunner Jeb Stuart.
During a dwell Q&A with forged members Sam Corlett (Leif Erikson), Frida Gustavsson (Freydis Eiríksdóttir) and Leo Sutter (Harald Sigurdsson), hosted by Collider’s Steve Weintraub, Stuart was requested if the present deliberate issues out from season to season. To that, he merely mentioned, “No, we’re positively not going season by season.” Elaborating on Season 2, which sees Leif and Harald set out in a single course, with Freydis headed within the different, he added, “I at all times knew that [in] Season 2, we had been going to take these guys, and we had been going to push them out.”
Part of the planning, in keeping with Stuart, comes from a want to trace the histories of those real-life figures. That concerned setting issues up early on and guaranteeing that the primary three seasons adopted by on that setup from the outset. As Stuart put it:
“We’ve tracked, within the storyline, as a result of we are able to, a little bit little bit of Leif Erikson’s story, of Freydis’ story, and likewise I used to be at all times fascinated how Harald Sigurdsson goes from Harald Sigurdsson to Harald Hardrada. From a historic standpoint, Harald acquired thrust out of Scandinavia and so these guys develop into fugitives from that time on, and that actually set the usual as a result of we then needed to construct the Viking legacy, as Leo says, outdoors of Scandinavia. You should be a Viking some place else, and it’s a problem, and it is nice for all their characters.
So I knew what Season 3 was going to be. I knew the place Season 3 was going to be due to that change of tradition, I knew that we now have to finally get to the New World. So what’s within the toolbox? How will we replenish Leif’s toolbox, and what does Freydis deliver to get these individuals, who’re the final maintain out of the Pagan religion? And we all know what’s taking place in Europe at the moment. So it is thrilling for us. And so sure, I’m not doing this season by season.”
This type of forward-thinking is available in very useful for the actors as effectively, as Suter defined, with Stuart serving to put issues in context and perspective for the forged. As he put it:
“[S]ometimes we’ll have questions for Jeb, and he is been very open to having conversations with us, speaking about our character. I say, “How does this work on this episode?” And then he’ll go, “Well, in Season 3 this or that is going to occur.” So we have had that since Season 1, truly, and it has been actually helpful for us as actors, having that vast fowl’s-eye-view of what this present goes to seem like and the place these characters are going to get to. It means, generally you do not have to hurry to get there as a result of there’s time, a lot of time.”
How Many Seasons Will Vikings: Valhalla Have?
As of proper now, Vikings: Valhalla is scheduled for 3 seasons. But that does not imply Stuart is not considering past that, telling Weintraub on the Q&A, “I’ve an actual plan, hopefully, for a 4, 5, and 6.”
In a separate, 1-on-1 interview, Stuart advised Weintraub that he conceived them as a “block,” with the narrative all interwoven to inform one large story, regardless that he does hope to proceed the story into Season 4 and past:
“We actually talked about one, two, and three as type of a block, after which hopefully we might get to a 4, 5, and 6 as a result of the story is… I believe you may see once you see Season 2 and Season 3. It’s nearly like a novel. It has these fantastic time-jumps and development when it comes to specific characters. And like a extremely large, nice novel, it is acquired a number of under-stories which can be holding issues up that you do not actually really feel. They’re like leitmotifs that you do not actually see, however you abruptly really feel them there.”
Stuart additionally added that ought to the collection proceed previous Season 3, he would love the prospect to movie them as a giant block quite than individually, because the bigger, macro view of issues helps him inform the story:
“If we have an opportunity to shoot this, sure, it is a continuation as a result of the primary half was regarded as a triptych. The second half needs to be considered, as effectively. Now, if I solely acquired one season to go, I’ll take it separately and do no matter I’ve to do. But, this stuff are at all times higher once you get to play on a big canvas. It’s higher.”
Even if the collection does not proceed half Season 3, nevertheless, Stuart sees the story as-is as being a stand-alone, and teases that issues will come to a satisfying ending.
“So, I’m hoping we now have the chance to finish that journey, however I really feel that one, two, and three are all stand-alone’s, all good like that. I’m comfortable. I’m a cheerful man. I’m getting to inform a extremely cool story with a lot of nice motion and nice characters, and a forged that I like working with, and crew. What’s there to complain about?”
Vikings: Valhalla Season 2 premieres on Netflix on January 12. Look for extra from our interview with Stuart quickly. Check out our interview with a few of the forged from Season 1 beneath: