The Northman follows Alexander Skarsgard as a Viking embarking on an epic mission to avenge the death of his father.
The action-filled saga, from the acclaimed director of The Witch and The Lighthouse, Robert Eggers, unfolds through the eyes of Skarsgard’s Amleth, scarred from witnessing the murder of his father King Aurvandil (Ethan Hawke) at the hands of his uncle, Fjolnir (Claes Bang).
As his mother Queen Gudrun (Nicole Kidman) has been captured, Amleth flees his native land and is consumed with seeking revenge against those responsible for his father’s demise.
Written by Eggers and Icelandic poet and novelist Sjón Sigurdsson, the film is set at the turn of the 10th century, with Eggers comparing it to Hamlet.
“It’s basically the story of Hamlet or The Lion King, which was originally an old Norse story where the Hamlet character was called Amleth,” Eggers told EW. “We’ve told it in our own way. It is a Viking saga with magic and swords and mysticism and all the stuff that you’d want from that.”
The cast also includes Anya Taylor-Joy, who led Eggers’ psychological thriller The Witch, Willem Defoe (who appeared in Eggers’ The Lighthouse) and iconic Icelandic singer and songwriter Björk.
So, without further ado, here is everything you need to know about The Northman.
The Northman release date
The Northman will be released in UK cinemas on Friday 15th April 2022.
The film has its premiere on Tuesday 5th April 2022 and was attended by director Robert Eggers and stars Alexander Skarsgard and Anya Taylor-Joy.
The Northman will release in the US on Friday 22nd April 2022.
The Northman run time
The Northman is expected to run for 2 hours 20 minutes.
This is Robert Eggers’ longest feature film to date, with The VVitch running at 1 hour 32 minutes and The Lighthouse running at 1 hour 50 minutes.
Its length suggests we have a true epic on our hands.
The Northman cast
The following stars are part of the cast of The Northman.
- Alexander Skarsgård as Amleth
- Nicole Kidman as Queen Gudrún
- Claes Bang as Fjölnir
- Anya Taylor-Joy as Olga
- Ethan Hawke as King Aurvandill
- Björk as the Seeress
- Willem Dafoe as Heimir the Fool
- Kate Dickie as Halldora the Pict
- Gustav Lindh as Thorir the Proud
- Ingvar Eggert Sigurðsson as He-Witch
- Murray McArthur as Hákon Ironbeard
- Ian Whyte as The Mound Dweller
- Katie Pattinson as Shield-maiden
- Ian Gerard Whyte as Thorvaldr Giant-Crusher
- Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson as Thorfinnr
- Doa Barney as Melkorka
- Olwen Fouéré as Ashildur Hofgythja
- Ralph Ineson as Captain Volodymyr
Alexander Skarsgard leads the film as Viking warrior Amleth, hell-bent on avenging the death of his father, King Aurvandil, played by Ethan Hawke.
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Claes Bang plays Amleth’s murderous uncle Fjolnir, while Skarsgard’s Big Little Lies co-star Nicole Kidman stars as his mother, Queen Gudrun.
Björk will star as Seeress, and Anya Taylor-Joy reunites with The Witch director Robert Eggers to play enigmatic enchantress, Olga.
Willem Defoe, who starred in Eggers’ The Lighthouse, plays Heimir The Fool.
Skarsgard underwent a huge physical transformation to play the “intense” role of Amleth, with Eggers telling EW: “Alex totally transformed his body. He’s bigger than he is in Tarzan, and that’s no small feat. He completely became this character.
“When he first had to do that berserker transformation scene everything fell into place. To my taste and understanding, he is like a saga hero. There are moments where his rage is as powerful as anything I can think of in cinema. I’m not trying to toot my horn, but it’s intense. I feel ridiculous saying something like that, but it is intense.”
The Northman trailer
A trailer was released last year, featuring a young Amleth witnessing the brutal murder of his father, and vowing to avenge his death as an adult.
You can watch the clip above.
Amleth can also be seen covered in blood and shackled in chains with Taylor-Joy’s Olga.
The hero is heard repeatedly chanting: “I will avenge you, Father. I will save you, Mother. I will kill you, Fjölnir.”
The Northman latest news
Alexander Skarsgard has described his role as viking Amleth as the most challenging – physically and mentally – that he’s ever taken on.
“It was physically and mentally the most difficult job I’ve ever had, but also the most rewarding,” he told Total Film. “The days were really long and hard, and we were out in the mud, and up on these mountaintops with the wind and the cold. The week prior, I was working on the television show Succession, on which I play a tech billionaire in a villa on Lake Como.
“So I literally went from playing one of the richest dudes on the planet in a crazy, beautiful villa, surrounded by yachts and helicopters and luxury, and got on a plane and flew to Iceland to get shackled and dragged through the mud. It was definitely a waking-up moment and a humbling experience.”
The Northman will arrive in cinemas in the UK on 15th April 2022.
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