Bloodaxe (TV series)

Bloodaxe is an upcoming historical drama television series created by Michael Hirst and his son Horatio Hirst. Set in the 10th century, the series will chronicle the story of the Viking warrior Erik Bloodaxe and his wife, Gunnhild, during Erik's ascent to the throne of Norway.

Cast and characters

Main

Xavier Molyneux as Erik Bloodaxe, a Viking warrior whose rise to power defines the central conflict of the series
Jessica Madsen as Gunnhild, Erik's wife, known as the "Mother of Kings"
Levi Miller as Haakon, Erik's younger half-brother
Karlis Arnolds Avots as Egil, a poet seeking to avenge his family
Rod Hallett as Athelstan, King of Wessex
Alina Tomnikov as Greta, a shield-maiden who can secretly transform into the Seer, a mystical figure with divine visions of the future
Sisse Marie as Thyra, Queen of Denmark
Rune Temte as Gorm, King of Denmark

Supporting

Jesper Christensen as Harald Fairhair, King of Norway, Erik's father and the ageing first king of all Norway
Marc Rissmann as Greycloak, Erik's eldest brother
Kai Luke Brümmer as Strut-Harald, Gunnhild's brother
Arthur McBain as Sigrod, one of Erik's brothers
Mads Reuther as the Jarl of Hladir, an ally of Haakon
Saku Taittonen as Knut, Gorm's son

Production

Development

On 6 March 2025, it was reported that Michael Hirst and his son Horatio Hirst were developing a historical drama series for Amazon Prime Video centered around the Viking warrior Erik Bloodaxe and titled Bloodaxe, which was subsequently ordered to series. The series is Michael Hirst's third set during the Viking Age, following his role as creator and lead writer of the History Channel series Vikings and his role as executive producer on the Netflix series Vikings: Valhalla. Horatio Hirst previously portrayed the character Bishop Grimketel in four episodes of Vikings: Valhalla, and will make his writing debut with Bloodaxe. Historically, Erik Bloodaxe's father was Harald Fairhair, a character portrayed by Peter Franzén in several seasons of Vikings.
Principal photography was set to start in Ireland and Iceland in late summer 2025 with filming commencing on 2 June 2025 in Wicklow, Ireland. Frederick E.O. Toye is set to direct the opening episodes.

Casting

In June 2025, Xavier Molyneux and Jessica Madsen were cast in the lead roles of Erik Bloodaxe and Gunnhild respectively. Later that month, Levi Miller joined the main cast as Haakon. In July, Karlis Arnolds Avots, Rod Hallett, Alina Tomnikov, Sisse Marie, and Rune Temte joined the main cast, with Jesper Christensen joining in a supporting role. In October, Marc Rissmann and Kai Luke Brümmer joined the cast while Arthur McBain joined in November. In January 2026, Mads Reuther and Saku Taittonen joined the cast.