David Farnor | On 26, Oct 2021

The Last Kingdom will return to Netflix for a fifth and final season in 2022, but the streamer isn’t done with the series yet, with a spin-off film in the works.

Adapted by BAFTA-nominated and RTS award-winning writer Stephen Butchard from Bernard Cornwell’s bestselling series of novels, the historical series is set in the year 872, when many of the separate kingdoms of what we now know as England have fallen to the invading Vikings, the great kingdom of Wessex has been left standing alone and defiant under the command of King Alfred the Great.

Against this turbulent backdrop lives our hero, Uhtred. Born the son of a Saxon nobleman, he is orphaned by the Vikings and then kidnapped and raised as one of their own – and is seeking to reclaim his birthright, his ancestral lands of Bebbanburg. First broadcast on BBC Two, Netflix boarded the show as a co-producer, but after two seasons, it became a Netflix exclusive, with a third season arriving in 2018, followed by a fourth season in 2019.

Season 5 is based on books nine and 10 in Cornwell’s 13-part series, The Warriors of the Storm and The Flame Bearer. It will see Uhtred (Alexander Dreymon) realise his destiny is tied to the future of England. Joining Dreymon will be Patrick Robinson (Sitting in Limbo) as Father Benedict, Sonya Cassidy (Humans) as open-hearted Saxon Eadgifu, and Harry Gilby (Tolkien) as Aethelstan. Behind the camera, Dreymon will also make his directorial debut on one episode.

While fans plan to bid farewell, though, Netflix is looking to the future with Dreymon announcing at London MCM Comic Con that a feature film is on the cards. The movie will be titled Seven Kings Must Die, with Dreymon reprising his lead role alongside many returning cast from the series.

Dreymon said: “It’s been such a privilege to tell Uhtred’s story for five seasons. I’m so grateful to our fans. They have been immensely loyal to The Last Kingdom and thanks to their support, the team is getting together for another round.”

Carnival Films will produce the film, with Dreymon exec-producing alongside writer Martha Hillier. The director will be Ed Bazalgette. Filming will begin in Budapest in early 2022.

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