There are still four "Vikings" season 3 episodes left and yet, History Channel has already approved a fourth run for the history-based TV series.
This development comes at a time when "Vikings" is having a hard time attracting more viewers for its third run which sees Ragnar Lothbrok (Travis Fimmel) and Lagertha (Katheryn Winnick) start their journey to conquer more lands in Europe.
The "Vikings" season 4 confirmation was first reported by Deadline.
"Vikings has raided the hearts of both audiences and critics, establishing itself as one of the most compelling, visually stunning dramas on television," History GM Dirk Hoogstra said in a statement.
"We are so proud of our immensely talented cast and crew led by [series creator] Michael Hirst, whose intriguing storylines and pivotal arcs have the perfect balance of scope, smarts and bloodshed to keep our loyal fans watching and wanting more."
A "Vikings" Season 4 has already been foreshadowed by series creator Michael Hirst days before the announcement. In fact, he has already written stories for its first few episodes. He also has a concrete plot for the show.
"I've written five episodes [of season four]. We're going to do more episodes this year, I think we're doing 16," says Hirst. "I have a huge hope that we can continue [beyond that]."
"I always anticipated continuing with Ragnar's sons because many of them became as famous, if not more famous, than he was," says Hirst in an interview with Radio Times.
"There was the rather remarkably named Ivar the Boneless and Ragnar's elder son [Bjorn] who sailed around the Mediterranean, and then they went to Iceland and Greenland."
Michale Hirst plans to introduce a time jump in "Vikings" season 4 and to feature more of Ragnar's other kids.
"I always anticipated continuing with Ragnar's sons because many of them became as famous, if not more famous, than he was," says Hirst.
"There was the rather remarkably named Ivar the Boneless and Ragnar's elder son [Bjorn] who sailed around the Mediterranean, and then they went to Iceland and Greenland."
