Rejoice, ‘Outlander’ fans! Graham McTavish, Nell Hudson, and Lotte Verbeek are returning to the series

As if the Droughtlander wasn’t already unbearable without exciting developments, Starz has just announced that a couple of familiar faces are returning to Outlander for the show’s seventh outing.

Graham McTavish, who’s found success in House of the Dragon as Ser Harrold Westerling, is returning to Scottish soil in the late 18th century as Dougal MacKenzie. Nell Hudson is also reprising Laoghaire Fraser, while Lotte Verbeek will don the Bakra’s robes once more as Geillis Duncan.

You might be wondering how Matthew B. Roberts and his crew are planning to bring back two characters who are so very dead in the current timeline. What you may have forgotten, however, is that Outlander deals with time travel as if it’s nothing of consequence, so perhaps one of our protagonists is venturing to a time when both Dougal and Geillis were alive.

“One of the many joys of our epic story is the element of time travel which allows us to revisit some of our favorite characters in different times and places, and we’re thrilled to welcome back so many familiar faces for season seven,” Roberts said. “In addition to our returning cast, we’re also excited to welcome several new actors to the Outlander family and cannot wait to introduce them to fans in our extended season.”

Of course, those three aren’t the only returning talent. Steven Cree’s old Ian Murray and Andrew Whipp’s Brian Fraser — Jamie’s father — are two of the other latest additions to the season 7 cast. As for Ian’s wife, Jenny, the show is replacing Laura Donnelly with Kristin Atherton, a change that might not necessarily sit well with the fans.

Oh, also, since season seven takes us well into the Revolutionary War, we’re definitely going to glimpse some historical faces as well, among them Benedict Arnold, who’ll be portrayed by The Last Kingdom alum, Rod Hallett.