Erling Haaland will make his feature acting debut voicing a Viking character called Haaland in the animated film Viqueens, the film's director and co-writer Harald Zwart confirmed. The 25-year-old Manchester City forward — already an international sporting figure at 6'5" with more than 40 million Instagram followers — will play himself in a picture built around fearless warrior girls, icy fjords and Silk Road mythology.
Zwart, who is directing and co-writing Viqueens for Karve Animation, said casting Haaland gave the project an unusual anchor. "As a Norwegian storyteller making a Viking adventure for a global audience, having Haaland join ViQueens feels incredibly exciting," he said. "Erling has already become a kind of real-life Viking icon around the world - powerful, fearless and uniquely Norwegian. Bringing him into this universe as himself gives the film an unexpected energy and authenticity that felt completely right for this story."
The film stars Rita Ora and Ella Purnell as the leads Hedvig and Ingrid, with comedian Alan Carr in a smaller role as a lyrically challenged royal scribe. Viqueens is due for release around Christmas, though another source familiar with the production said the film is still in production and is expected to be delivered in late 2026.
The casting is notable because it leans directly into Haaland's public image outside football. Since joining Manchester City from Borussia Dortmund in 2022 he has been a relentless goalscorer — 36 goals in his debut 2022-23 Premier League season and 26 so far in the 2025-26 campaign — and reached 100 goals in 105 matches for club and country. His profile, measured in part by social reach, is one reason the filmmakers say his presence will resonate worldwide.
Round Time News has previously covered Haaland's move into entertainment ( and his ongoing influence on the Premier League title race and Golden Boot contest ( The Viqueens announcement sits at the intersection of that athletic momentum and a branded, family-friendly holiday release that promises to trade on the striker's Norse mythos.
The reporting leaves a clear tension: the film is being pitched as a Christmas attraction while production notes point to a late-2026 delivery, and Haaland remains in the thick of a title and scoring race. If Viqueens intends a holiday release window, the production timetable will need to align with a player who, as the numbers show, is still front and centre on the pitch. That overlap raises scheduling questions for animation voice sessions, promotional appearances and the marketing arc the studio will need to build.
For Zwart, the casting is as much about authenticity as it is about reach. Karve Animation's Viqueens is an animated adventure-comedy aimed at a global family audience; the filmmakers have framed Haaland's participation as a way to add cultural texture and headline interest. Having a recognizable athlete play a version of himself in a mythic setting is uncommon for an animated holiday picture, and it shifts some of the burden of box-office and awareness onto a player whose calendar remains dominated by competitive football.
What happens next is straightforward and consequential: production must close on its schedule and the studio must decide whether to hold the announced Christmas release or follow the delivery timeline into late 2026. For viewers and fans who follow Haaland closely — from his goals on the pitch to his social reach — the film will test how well a sporting icon can carry a family animated feature into the holiday season.
