‘Vikings’ Creator Michael Hirst Is Building a New Norse World With ‘Bloodaxe,’ and It Sounds Spectacular

Few television creators have shaped the way modern audiences think about the Viking Age quite like Michael Hirst. The writer and executive producer is the force behind ‘Vikings,’ the Canada and Ireland co-production that aired on the History Channel for six seasons from 2013 to 2020.

That show became a cultural phenomenon, and its sheer popularity helped put legendary Norse seafarers at the forefront of the mainstream entertainment market, spawning follow-up series ‘Vikings: Valhalla’ for Netflix, which ran for three seasons. Now, Hirst is gearing up to return to that world with something he insists is entirely its own beast.

Amazon’s Prime Video has greenlit ‘Bloodaxe,’ a series that will track the rise of Viking warrior Erik Bloodaxe and his wife, Gunnhild, known as the Mother of Kings. The historical drama is co-written by Hirst and his son, Horatio, marking the younger Hirst’s writing debut.

Filming took place in Ireland and Iceland, and the series is now in post-production, with release expected on Amazon Prime Video. A second season is already in development, which suggests serious confidence behind the scenes.

Speaking to Variety at the Monte-Carlo Television Festival, Hirst confirmed the first season has already been shot and called it “spectacular,” while stressing that despite its DNA, this is “a new world.” He was clear that while ‘Vikings’ fans will be drawn to it, the show stands fully apart, noting that ‘Vikings: Valhalla’ was something he had no involvement in, and that ‘Bloodaxe’ is an entirely new story set 100 years later with a completely new cast.

Erik Bloodaxe, whose real name was Eric Haraldsson, was a Norwegian king who ruled from 932 to 934, and was also twice King of Northumbria. Hirst described the show’s third central character, Egil, as a “killer and a poet” and “a gift from the gods,” full of contradictions that make him endlessly compelling. The first season will focus on the conflict between Erik and Haakon, with Egil described as the wild card at the heart of the story.

The cast includes Xavier Molyneux as Erik Bloodaxe and Jessica Madsen as Gunnhild, alongside Levi Miller as Haakon, Karlis Arnolds Avots as Egil, and a supporting ensemble that includes Jesper Christensen and Rune Temte. MGM Television, a division of Amazon MGM, is producing, with several key producers from the original ‘Vikings’ returning in executive producer roles.

Hirst also opened up at Monte-Carlo about his long-held dream project, a story rooted in medieval France. The project is based on a book exploring the conflict between the Cathar sect, viewed as heretics by the Catholic Church, and the Inquisition, set in a small village in the Pyrenees.

Hirst described the book as leaving him “spellbound” and explained his enduring fascination with magical realism, which will also be a feature of ‘Bloodaxe,’ connecting real history to a world where gods and mythology bleed into the everyday lives of its characters.

With ‘Bloodaxe’ poised to carve its own legacy on Prime Video, the question now is whether Hirst has another epoch-defining hit on his hands. Are you ready to follow a new generation of Norse warriors into battle, or does your heart still belong to Ragnar Lodbrok and the world of the original ‘Vikings’?