While the end of another year of Outlander is exciting, fans are already dreading another Droughtlander. In order to alleviate some of the pain, here’s everything we know about Season 3.
According to Zap2it , the new season is based on Diana Gabaldon’s book, Voyager . Filming for the new season is expected to commence as early as next month.
Dragonfly in Amber had its own challenges in adapting to television, namely its complicated storyline. Executive Producer Ron Moore explained how Voyager is a different beast all together.
“Voyager is another challenge, a different challenge, for the show,” Moore told the outlet. “Fortunately, that story at least begins in Scotland, so we don’t have to immediately switch to France like we did this year.
The majority of the events in the book take place on board a series of ships as Jamie (Sam Heughan) and Claire (Caitriona Balfe) travel far from Scotland. The multiple changes in settings are one of the challenges Moore and his team are going to have to tackle.
“But I know we’re not shooting solely in Scotland — we have to find a ship and a tank and facilities and sets and the whole nine yards to do a sea voyage, because there’s an extended sea voyage,” Moore explained. “They sail that ship around the Caribbean, then there’s a hurricane and shipwreck.”
The shooting locations for Season 3 of Outlander have not been officially announced, though Moore is open to filming in South Africa and maybe even the U.S.
When opening up about the filming process, Moore told Cinema Blend that he is looking forward to Claire and Jamie’s long journey on the ocean.
“The technology now, between real ships like what they have in Black Sails and CG, it’s now developed into a place where you can believe it,” Moore shared. “It’s no longer just the models on the water tank at Paramount, which is clearly like this big. Now you can really realize on a television budget what Pirates of the Caribbean was doing 8-10 years ago.”
As was true in Season 2, Voyager will introduce a number of exciting new characters to the show. This includes a younger version of Ian, an older version of Fergus, and an adult Lord John.
Unfortunately, none of the new characters have been cast, though that process is expected to take place over the next few months.
Although fans are not looking forward to another Droughtlander, TV Guide is reporting that the coming break will not be very long. In fact, writer Matt Roberts recently revealed that the Outlandercrew isn’t taking an extending break this year.
“ Outlander is a beast of a show to produce, so if we took a normal break, a regular hiatus like a normal show, we would already be behind,” Roberts explained to The Hollywood Reporter . “Now the fans can have it sooner than what they think. The Doughtlander won’t be as long as they expect.”
Roberts did not, however, reveal when fans can expect Voyager to premiere.
The new season of Outlander will contain 13 episodes instead of the 16 in Season 1, which should also help with the early release.
It isn’t known how early Outlander will return to television, though a few weeks or even a month isn’t out of the question.
Meanwhile, Scotland Now reports that Starz actually renewed Outlander for two more seasons instead of just one. Considering the show’s popularity, there is little question that Outlander will eventually catch up to Gabaldon’s 8th book.
Fans can watch the Season 2 finale of Outlander Saturday night on Starz and check out a preview below.
Season 3 of Outlander should premiere in early spring of 2017.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CfQ8YGCeV-8
[Image via Starz]