The Last Kingdom has now returned bringing all the romantic moments, battles and betrayals that we’ve come to expect and leaving many of us wondering about the Netflix show’s future.
Inspired by Bernard Cornwell’s The Saxon Stories book series, The Last Kingdom has brought the struggles of Anglo-Saxon and Vikings to life in intense style. From the moment it landed in 2015 it’s amassed fans across the world and now having made the move from BBC to Netflix in 2018, The Last Kingdom season 5 has finally arrived. For fans of historical dramas like Outlander series 6 and The Gilded Age, there’s something about this gritty series that will soon draw you in.
From Alexander Dreymon and Emily Cox’s brilliant performances as Saxon-raised-by-Danes Uhtred and Saxon woman Brida, to the historical detail, this rollercoaster watch has it all. Now as fans race through season 5, many will be looking ahead.
But will there be The Last Kingdom season 6 and how can you watch all the best moments of seasons 1-5 all over again?
Will there be The Last Kingdom season 6?
Just as thriller fans might now be speculating how many episodes of Our House there were and if there could be season 2 or hoping for questions to be answered in a potential The Tourist season 2, The Last Kingdom fans will likely be hoping for renewal news. But very sadly even before the latest season landed it was confirmed that there won’t be The Last Kingdom season 6.
Instead, the latest installment, The Last Kingdom season 5, is set to be the last outing of the Netflix historical hit. Last year it was announced that the show wouldn’t be taking Uhtred of Bebbanburg’s journey beyond season 5, which is understood to have been inspired by Warriors of the Storm and The Flame Bearer by Bernard Cornwell.
Whilst this caused major upset amongst shocked fans at the time, Uhtred’s actor Alexander Dreymon has previously explained that it was always the intention to end The Last Kingdom after season 5, regardless of the show’s massive popularity.
According to RadioTimes.com, he reportedly shared, “We had always planned for it to be five seasons only so it came as a surprise to no one really. When we started off there were only 10 books and so that was the arc that we had planned out... I'm quite happy with the way that it went."
Meanwhile, The Last Kingdom’s Executive Producer Nigel Marchant expressed his belief that the conclusion of the historical drama came at the “right time”.
“You always want to keep on top and improving season upon season and 10 hours is... it's a lot of story you tell within that and you have to be careful not to repeat," Nigel disclosed back in July 2021.
He also revealed that it’s those iconic battle scenes that make The Last Kingdom more challenging to bring back time and time again. Whilst impressive on-screen, it seems ensuring they remain engaging to watch each season isn’t an easy feat.
"It's always a challenge: how do we do a battle differently? How do we make sure the battles are told through emotion and not just loads of people fighting that you don't care about? And how long can you keep going with those two themes without ever getting to a climax?" he added.
"What we really wanted to do was finish [in a way] that everyone thought was satisfactory—which I hope we've done—and that we had nearly 50 episodes that felt that you had a beginning, middle and end,” Nigel reflected. “I think it's always nicer if you curate that, rather than it just finishes and you don't finish telling the story."
So sadly The Last Kingdom season 6 isn’t in the works, making each moment of season 5’s epic storyline all the more bittersweet and not-to-be-missed.
How to watch The Last Kingdom seasons 1-5
If you’ve yet to dive into the complex world of Viking and Anglo-Saxon society in The Last Kingdom, then there are plenty of unforgettable moments to catch up on from season 1-5. Originally shown on BBC America and BBC Two back in 2015, the show moved to Netflix from season three and it’s here that loyal fans and The Last Kingdom newcomers should head to watch all the previous seasons.
The Last Kingdom season 1-5 are all available to watch on Netflix for viewers in the US and UK, as well as several other countries around the world. But if you’re abroad and find yourself unable to watch The Last Kingdom due to any regional restrictions then never fear!
You can use a VPN to continue watching this hit drama. This is a handy bit of software that changes your IP address so that you can access on-demand content or live TV just as if you were at home.
Our sister site, TechRadar, has tested all of the major VPN services and they rate ExpressVPN as the absolute best.
They say, “It’s compatible with all of your devices, supports most streaming services, and ranks among the fastest. You can even install it on devices like an Amazon Fire TV Stick, Apple TV, Xbox, and PlayStation. So for a one-stop-shop, you can’t go wrong with Express.”
All we know about the Last Kingdom movie, Seven Kings Must Die
Their worlds couldn’t be more different, but just like British period drama Downton Abbey, The Last Kingdom is coming to the big screen. The Downton Abbey sequel is just around the corner, proving just how successful these show-to-movie adaptations can be.
Enigmatically titled Seven Kings Must Die, filming for the new The Last Kingdom movie is apparently already underway in Hungary, where The Teacher was filmed. Whilst Alexander Dreymon discussed the upcoming film at The Last Kingdom's MCM London Comic-Con panel, hosted by RadioTimes.com writer David Craig.
He revealed that given the “big appetite” of fans for a follow-up, they were going ahead with a “little extension” on The Last Kingdom’s general story.
"When we started shooting the show there were 10 books that Bernard Cornwell had written, and we had structured the show in a way that season 5 was always going to be the last season," he explained.
"However, for a good while now we've been in talks about maybe a little extension... because it felt like it couldn't quite yet be the end. And then we've seen such a big appetite from the fans for an encore that we have decided, along with Netflix, to do a special which is going to be a 'movie version' of the show”.
We have officially started filming Seven Kings Must Die. Now that is special…#TheLastKingdom pic.twitter.com/rQxyLGWJyEJanuary 31, 2022
It’s expected that Uhtred will be making a dramatic return for Seven Kings Must Die. And it seems his ally Sihtric could also be involved as Alexander shared a sneak peek clip from the set that featured his actor, Arnas Fedaravicius.
A full cast list has yet to be released and it’s thought that showrunners were keen not to spoil major character deaths throughout season 5. Though it’s safe to say that there are some pretty major cast members who aren’t expected to return…
And it seems The Last Kingdom movie won’t be taking the place of a sixth season. Instead, Nigel Marchant has said, “Season 5 does feel like the end of the TV series, and the movie will be much more standalone. It’ll be an extra treat for the fans of the TV series, but you could also watch it even if you’ve never seen the TV show."
Bernard Cornwell’s final three novels, War of the Wolf, Sword of Kings, and War Lord, are expected to inspire the movie, giving book fans a head-start on the storyline.
Currently there’s no release date announced for Seven Kings Must Die. But in light of Alexander Dreymon’s remarks about the decision being made with Netflix and their involvement in previous seasons, it’s likely that The Last Kingdom movie will join old seasons on the streaming platform.
Until then, fans will just have to re-watch The Last Kingdom seasons 1-5 and dive into Bernard's books for hints at what could lie in store...
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