Ferocious Viking Warriors Will Invade Theaters in 'The Northman'

Ancient military warriors were once a staple of Hollywood movies. Vikings, Roman centurions, Greek swordsmen and medieval knights once ruled the action picture genre, but they've mostly faded away since the rise of "Star Wars" and Marvel movies.

Enter "The Northman," an ambitious and expensive spectacle that's based on ancient Norse myths that's set to open in theaters on April 22, 2022. Based on the Scandinavian legend of Amleth, the movie from Robert Eggers ("The Witch," "The Lighthouse") represents the ambitious young director's move from the art house to mainstream cinema.

If the name "Amleth" sort of looks familiar, that's because his legend is the same one that eventually inspired William Shakespeare to write "Hamlet." That's a play with a couple of stabbings, but "The Northman" is an epic war movie about a young prince bent on revenge for the murder of his father.

You want action? The final trailer for the film proves that this movie is serious about its battle scenes.

Alexander Skarsgård ("True Blood," "The Stand") stars as Amleth. Ethan Hawke ("Training Day," "Moon Knight") and Nicole Kidman ("Aquaman," "Big Little Lies") play his parents, King Aurvandil War-Raven and Queen Gudrún. Anya Taylor-Joy ("Queen's Gambit"), Willem Dafoe ("Spider-Man: No Way Home," "Nightmare Alley"), Claes Bang ("The Last Vermeer") and Icelandic music icon Björk round out an all-star cast.

Filmed on location in Northern Ireland, conditions were cold and wet as Eggers strove to make his movie as historically accurate as possible. Hawke described the production as the closest he'll ever come to being on the set of "Apocalypse Now," another war movie filmed in legendarily brutal conditions.

Early reviews from around the world have been glowing. If you're someone who's been complaining about science fiction and caped-crusader movies taking over the movies, this may be the time to get yourself to a theater so that Hollywood will make more historical military dramas.

If you've been enjoying "Vikings" on the History Channel the last few years, "The Northman" covers some of the same ground with a budget that's many times greater than what we've been getting on television. Ancient combat enthusiasts have been waiting for a movie like this one, and early signs indicate that the cast and crew have delivered.

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