How Soon Does 'Vikings' Season 4 Return?

The world needs more Vikings and after the Season 3 finale airs Thursday, we'll all bound to be stricken with emotional hangovers. How can it be over already? Luckily, History's Vikings is renewed for Season 4, so we are guaranteed to have more battles, more beautiful norse heroes, and way more drama. But when will Vikings Season 4 actually premiere? Knowing that Season 3 is basically over, I simply need to have the comfort of marking my calendar with a return date. Do you hear me, History Channel?

The short answer is, unfortunately, that there is no return date set yet. Vikings resumes filming this spring in the eternally gorgeous country of Ireland, and hopefully we'll see a Season 4 premiere date announcement as the filming gets underway. For now, it looks like we need to take a beat and revel in the present. However, Vikings creator Michael Hirst did tell Radio Times about the number of episodes he's hoping to have in Season 4, “I’ve written five episodes. We’re going to do more episodes this year, I think we’re doing 16. I have a huge hope that we can continue [beyond that].”

There is so much that can happen between right this very second and when Season 4 begins, that my brain can barely handle all the Q's that are desperately seeking A's. First of all, will Ragnar survive? Is there a possibility that we might have to bid farewell to our favorite hunky, tortured king with eyes so blue it looks like he was blinded by a falling sky?

Hirst told Design & Trend, "I always anticipated continuing with Ragnar's sons because many of them became as famous, if not more famous, than he was." According to legend, Ragnar dies in a snake pit at the hands of King Aelle, so it's entirely possible that Vikings will Ned-Stark all of us and leave us mourning the loss of our leader.

But with the brilliant writing and the shocking twists we've seen in the show thus far, there's no doubt we'll be glued to our seats with or without Ragnar at the helm of the dramz.

Until Ragnar's fate is determined (which could certainly be the crux of the Season 3 finale), we can rest easy knowing that there will be more hostile takeovers, more incredible Viking women bad-assery, more blood, and more bold journeys into the unknown.

So let's savor every second tonight's finale, because even though we know our favorite show will return, the not knowing when is enough to drive us straight into a norse nerd rage.

Image: Bernard Walsh/HISTORY; Giphy (3)