‘Outlander’ Star Sam Heughan Says Season 3 Will Be ‘Quite An Adventure’
The Season 2 finale of Outlander proved an emotional affair, with Claire (Caitriona Balfe) leaving Jamie (Sam Heughan) to an uncertain fate right before the Battle of Culloden. Although Jamie expected to die at Culloden, Claire discovered that he may have survived the fight, setting up an exciting Season 3.
According to the International Business Times, Heughan discussed Jamie and Claire’s departure and promised that fans will discover what happened next season.
“As Jamie lets Claire go, he knows he’s going to die, but at least she is going to be safe, and his unborn child, who will be Bree,” Heughan told Variety. “We won’t actually see what happens to Jamie after she’s gone through the Stones until the next season.”
The finale introduced Claire’s daughter from the future, Brianna (Sophie Skelton), along with an older Roger Wakefield (Richard Rankin), both of whom will play bigger parts in Season 3.
While fans wait to learn about Jamie’s fate, Heughan admitted that life without Claire will be interesting. He also talked about how Jamie will be a lot older the next time he appears on the show.
“For me, that’s a really big question and something that will be really interesting to look at: who is Jamie without Claire, why is he still surviving or what has he got to live for when he’s lost the woman that he loves?” Heughan stated. “She will eventually return, but they’re both older, so who is the man he’s become age-wise, physically?”
The changing dynamics of Outlander is one thing Heughan looks forward to the most. In fact, Heughan promised that the coming season would be “quite an adventure.”
“I think that’s the joy of the show, it’s never the same thing, it’s constantly moving, so next season should be quite an adventure,” he told the outlet.
Speaking of getting older, Balfe told Yahoo TV that she did a lot of research before playing her character 20 years in the future. Along with reading ahead in the books, Balfe also watched actresses who aged gracefully in Hollywood.
In the end, Claire wanted to portray Claire with the same amount of fierceness as before but with an added layer of maturity.
“Claire is a survivor, we know that about her – we know that she’s a fighter, but having lived in a marriage of convenience in many ways with Frank for 20 years, that has to have had an effect on her shine in a way, on her vitality,” Balfe explained.
It isn’t known how Heughan plans on portraying an older Jamie, though it will be interesting to see his character’s interactions with Claire when Outlander returns next year.
Meanwhile, Game N Guide is reporting that Outlander has already started filming for the new season.
These reports have not been confirmed, though executive producer Ronald D. Moore previously revealed that production will start sometime this summer or early fall. Given the large scope of the coming season, Moore and his team want to get an early jump on filming, which should translate to less time in between seasons.
Of course, the reports of production have also been plagued by rumors of Balfe’s departure from Outlander. Apparently, Balfe wants to focus on her film career and starring in movies like Money Monster instead of playing a television role.
So far, rumors of Balfe’s departure have not been substantiated, and fans can expect her full participation in the new season of Outlander.
The third season is based on Diana Gabaldon’s novel Voyager. An official release date has not been announced, though fans can expect Outlander to return in the early part of 2017.
[Photo by Robin Marchant/Getty Images]
