Netflix 'Vikings: Valhalla' has 'Die Hard' writer to credit for striking, fast-paced spinoff show

Jeb Stuart, writer of Die Hard and The Fugitive, brought his fast-paced storytelling to Netflix’s Vikings: Valhalla (released Feb. 25), set 100 years after the History Channel's original Vikings show.

“I'm never going to be able to write like the old show was,...it wasn't my style,” Stuart told Yahoo Canada. “It presented one of the biggest challenges for the crew, when I got over to Ireland and we were prepping,...everybody came in and said, ‘wow, these scripts, they just run.’”

What is 'Vikings: Valhalla' on Netflix about?

Vikings: Valhalla is set in the early 11th century and is largely centred around three of the most legendary Vikings that ever lived, Leif Eriksson (Sam Corlett), Harald Sigurdsson (Leo Suter) and Leif’s sister Freydis Eriksdotter (Frida Gustavsson). At the outset of the series tensions between Viking and English royals are intensifying, resulting in King Aethelred II (Bosco Hogan) calling for the extermination of all Vikings living in England.

That takes us to Kattegat, where thee Vikings, led by King Canute (Bradley Freegard), plan to attack England and avenge King Aethelred’s murder of Viking people. But the Vikings themselves are clashing as well, particularly related to conflicting Christian and pagan beliefs.

With Jeb Stuart being a fan of the original series, created by Michael Hirst, he always knew he didn’t want to make another season of the same Vikings show, but rather, a “fresh take” on this Vikings storytelling.

“Reading the scripts it was like, ‘wow, there's so much going on’ but I was still kept at the edge of my seat, in terms of who these people are and I think the characters unfold quite slowly, despite the pace being quite quick,” actor Sam Corlett, who plays Leif Eriksson, told Yahoo Canada.

“That mixture, I think, really enhances the experience of the show… I still found those moments to breathe, and the moments to have intimacy and vulnerable moments were very important amongst the rupture of the madness.”

“Jeb and Niels [Arden Oplev], who directed the pilot, they come from that feature world and so that was quite cool for them to bring that expertise and that style of making movies and TV shows, for that to percolate through was pretty cool,” Leo Suter who plays Harald Sigurdsson added.

“That breathing space was very special and for Harald, it's usually with Freydis, and so those scenes where he can be more intimate, more vulnerable, are really special to puncture the big speeches and the fierce battle scenes.”

Vikings are just 'really f—king cool'

In terms of researching Viking culture for the series, Jeb Stuart highlighted that there was more archaeological evidence than was available even 10 year ago.

“When you're working on a Viking show, every new discovery, somebody sends me an article from somewhere about it,” the showrunner said. “But I did do an enormous amount of research on it.”

“It's just a matter of what's important, what do you need to tell the story. We are very authentic, in terms of our storytelling, but there's a lot we don't know about the Vikings… Since there was no Viking [written] language, so to speak, we're depending upon stories that were often…written down 200 years after they happened.”

While Vikings: Valhalla can certainly be seen as the kind of ultimate history lesson, there’s still a more simplistic part of it that makes the topic engaging, best identified by actors Bradley Freegard who plays King Canute, and Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson, who plays Harald’s older brother Olaf Haraldsson, Vikings are just “really f–king cool.”

“They wear some really good costumes, they are in some beautiful locations,” Freegard told Yahoo Canada.

Jóhannesson added that it is a particularly interesting time in history, but ultimately these characters just “look so cool.”

“I’d rather see Vikings than a Victorian thing,” he said.

“For us in Iceland, we learn about Olaf Haraldsson in school. I was very aware of who this man was… Immediately you start reading everything you can get your hands on and get yourself reacquainted with the history of it, and then just can't wait to get on set and start enjoying the ride.”

Women of Vikings: Valhalla are 'driving in the storyline'

While you may expect most of the focus to be on the male Vikings as these strong, physical leaders, the women in this story, particularly Frida Gustavsson as Freydis Eriksdotter and Caroline Henderson, who plays Haakon, a warrior and leader who rules Kattegat, that bring a real sense of strength and power to the narrative.

It’s also an interesting time period to look at women in history, in particular, because they were able to divorce their husbands, buy property and rule kingdoms. Even more importantly, Vikings: Valhalla allows us to see women supporting each other and helping each other succeed.

“It was a very fascinating time of history for us to portray these fierce and strong women and then to be able to do that together with Frieda, and her character Freydis, was life changing for me, because we had such a strong bond and the story [is] so beautiful between these two women,” Henderson told Yahoo Canada.

“I think something that we were both so excited about was the prospect of working on a show where the female characters are so empowered, they’re so driving in the storyline, they’re very active,” Gustavsson added. “They're not just passive bystanders who things happen to.”

“I really love the blossoming mentorship and friendship between Freydis and Haakon. I feel like, unfortunately, it's quite rare that you see two strong women getting along. Usually, it's like, the evil queen and the good queen, or they always plot women against each other. That was a really beautiful story to tell in this pretty changing time and a pretty harsh setting.”

Ultimately, Vikings: Valhalla does really have something to offer for everyone, whether you’re looking for that intense action, those more emotional and tender moments between characters, or just beautiful landscapes and costumes to look at.

“I think if you want to be disgusting and do things that nobody wants,...smash them over the head with a mallet, it’ll scratch that itch,” David Oakes, who plays the sneaky and cunning chief counsellor to the King of England, Earl Godwin, told Yahoo Canada. “If you want to know what it's like to be able to outwit and outthink, and to organize a great future for yourself, then you'll have that itch scratched.”

“If you just like pretty clothes and costumes, then you’ll get that itch to scratch too. I think ultimately, there's enough of something in this for people who love the previous show, there's enough of this in this just to watch it from scratch.”