Per Focus Features, "Prince Amleth is on the verge of becoming a man when his father is brutally murdered by his uncle, who kidnaps the boy's mother. Two decades later, Amleth is now a Viking who raids Slavic villages. He soon meets a seeress who reminds him of his vow — save his mother, kill his uncle, avenge his father."
The Northman stars Skarsgård, Anya Taylor-Joy as Olga, Nicole Kidman as Queen Gudrún, Claes Band as Fjölnir, Ethan Hawke as King Aurvandill War-Raven, and Willem Dafoe as Heimir the Fool. It also features Icelandic legend, Björk as a Seeress, who partakes in one of the film's most memorable scenes.
If the "getting justice for your father who your uncle murdered" trope reminds you of another story, you're not alone. It's a narrative spun by ol' Billy Shakespeare himself in Hamlet and, yes, The Lion King.
You might not know that Shakespeare took inspiration for that story from the Scandinavian legend of Amleth, hence the name of Skarsgård's character.
Slight spoilers for The Northman follow.