"Twilight of the Gods" was conceived by Jay Oliva during an impromptu phone call with John Derderian from Netflix. While attending a writer's summit for his previous series, Trese, Oliva was asked if he knew anything about Norse mythology. He quickly pitched an idea, which Netflix loved, and they reached out again, suggesting he collaborate with Zack Snyder. The two developed the concept further, and Eric Carrasco was brought on as head writer to lead the script-writing team.
The events that this series depicts were known to the Old Norse peoples as Ragnarök. Although the series does differ largely from the events specified in the 13th-century written Prose Edda by Snorri Sturluson and in the Icelandic poem titled Völuspá.
In June 2024, it was announced that Hans Zimmer would compose the music for the series.
Vikings had quite progressive gender roles for the period, with women able to participate in battle, own land, and divorce their husbands, which is all accurately displayed by Hervor and Sigrid.
The Oscar-nominated Xilam Animation served as the animation studio for the show, handling layout, background coloring, animation, and compositing.