With Season 2 of Netflix’s Vikings: Valhalla not even released yet, there is some exciting casting news about Season 3, which has already been confirmed by the network.
Goran Visnjic has reportedly signed up for the third installment of the hit historical drama series based on the Viking Age. He will portray Erik the Red.
Currently, in Season 1, Leif (Sam Corlett) and Freydis (Frida Gustavsson) have revealed that this character is their father but, as yet, no one has laid eyes on him.
Goran Visnjic joins Vikings: Valhalla Season 3 line-up
According to Deadline, actor Goran Visnjic will appear in Season 3 in a major way as Erik the Red.
Filming for Season 3 of Vikings: Valhalla started in the spring, according to Entertainment Weekly, which means it is likely currently underway. As yet, though, there has been no visual shared of Visnjic in this role.
While fans of the TV show already know that Erik the Red is the father of Leif and Freydis, he is also currently in exile in Greenland. The reason for this is that he committed some pretty major crimes in both Iceland and Norway.
In the original series, Vikings, Erik the Red did appear in the final season and was portrayed by Erik Johnson. However, that series killed the character off, which will put the storylines in opposition between the two series.
Who was Erik the Red in the Viking sagas?
Currently, Vikings: Valhalla has not hugely followed the Viking sagas that involve Leif and Freydis.
Although, there are parts of the storyline that certainly ring true with the network concentrating on the parts before the characters’ major inclusions in the sagas.
What has been said about Erik the Red by his children has been mostly correct, though.
Erik was exiled for crimes he committed in Iceland and Norway, and this is how he wound up in Greenland. He was also considered quite violent among his peers.
Born in Norway in 950 CE, Erik was the son of Thorvald Asvaldsson. Thorvald appeared to be just as brutal as his son and was banished from Norway, leading his family to Iceland to live.
While there, Erik came into some grief when his slaves caused a landslide. Conflict arose after that and Erik killed a man named Eyjolf the Foul.
This led to his exile from Iceland. During this time, he caused trouble in Norway and was also banished from there for killing several men.
It was also around this time that Erik did some exploring and it was he who first settled on Greenland, even though other Vikings had tried previously.
After his exile from Iceland was over, Erik returned and talked up Greenland, encouraging others to join him there even though the place was covered in ice and not the “green land” that Erik touted.
So, as you can see, if Vikings: Valhalla follows the sagas closely regarding Erik the Red, viewers are set for a wild ride.
Season 1 of Vikings: Valhalla is currently streaming on Netflix. Season 2 will air in 2023.
