Last year it was announced that global heavy metal vocalist, Johan Hegg, had been confirmed to join the cast of Northmen – A Viking Saga. Hegg, the frontman of Sweden’s heavy metal titans Amon Amarth, joined the production in South Africa, playing the role of Viking warrior Valli.

Said Hegg: "The mythology behind our Viking heritage is engrained in everything we do and it is awesome to have the opportunity to be part of Northmen – A Viking Saga. This is going to be one epic adventure and I cannot wait to be on set with my co-stars and this fantastic filmmaking team!"

Dietrich added: "It is an honour to have metal icon, Johan Hegg, set sail with us and we could not be more excited. Such a fitting addition, Johan’s music, as the lead singer of Amon Amarth, is synonymous with the Viking experience that we are bringing to life in Northmen – A Viking Saga."

Hegg joins an international cast including; Tom Hopper (Knights of Badassdom, Black Sails, Merlin), Ryan Kwanten (True Blood, The Right Kind of Wrong), Ken Duken (Das Adlon, Inglorious Basterds), Charlie Murphy (Philomena, The Village), Ed Skrein (The Sweeney, Ill Manors, Game of Thrones), Anatole Taubman (Quantum of Solace, The Tudors) and James Norton (Rush, Belle).

Directed by Claudio Fäh (Sniper: Reloaded, Hollow Man 2) and scripted by Matthias Bauer and Bastian Zach, the film is co-produced by Elite Filmproduktion AG, Two Oceans Productio and Jumping Horse Film GmbH. The producers are Karin G. Dietrich, Ralph S. Dietrich and Daniel Hoeltschi for Elite, Giselher Venzke and Bertha Spieker for TOP and Marco Del Bianco, Frank Kaminski, Ulrich Stiehm and Rolf Wappenschmitt for Jumping Horse. VFX production is by Day for Night GmbH.

Pictured above - The Northmen Cast, from left-right: Mark Strepan; Johan Hegg; Ken Duken; James Norton; Charlie Murphy; Anatole Taubman; Ed Skrein; Leo Gregory; (front) Darrell D’Silva; Tom Hopper

A movie description reads: A band of Vikings are stranded behind enemy lines on the coast of Alba as their longboat goes down in a dreadful storm. Their only chance of survival is to find a path to the Viking settlement, Danelag, traversing an unfamiliar and hostile land they have never known. The journey becomes a race for their lives when the King of Alba sends his most feared mercenaries after them. But when the Vikings meet a kind Christian Monk who preaches with his sword, the hunters become the hunted as the Vikings set deadly traps, mercilessly decimating their pursuers one by one, culminating in a final and deadly encounter.

Check out a first trailer for the film, due in theaters in fall 2014, below:

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