Warning: This article contains spoilers for the upcoming Outlander seasons.
The time-traveling extraordinaire depicting the Scottish highlands’ history has quickly won over the hearts of romance fans all over the world. Whether that may be through their literary counterparts written by Diana Gabaldon, or the television installment, Outlander‘s popularity materializes itself via the existence of six seasons of the Starz show. As the semi-fictional series heads to its seventh season, with its eighth season already on the horizon, more and more questions have been arising. Despite confirmation that the show will end after eight seasons, fans have been wondering about the future of the Frasers, and its uncertainty regarding the unfinished book series.
For context, the Outlander book series by Gabaldon is still not concluded, however, on Jan.18, Starz greenlit a new and final season for the show. The upcoming two seasons, comprised of 16 and 10 episodes each, will depict the events in the ninth and tenth books, and while it may not be enough to complete the story- it will have to do. Nonetheless, alongside the show’s renewal, news of an upcoming spin-off also arose, only this time, they will not be pursuing the lives of Claire and Jamie, nor their offspring.
What will the Outlander spin-off be about?
The series spin-off entitled Outlander: Blood of My Blood will be a prequel focused on the love story between Jamie Fraser’s parents, Ellen MacKenzie and Brian Fraser. As a nod to Jamie’s marriage vows to Claire, this love story is expected to bring as many hurdles and struggles as the main series’ own marriage. This upcoming sequel is still in the works, however, it has been confirmed to be a story depicting a relationship that was considered a luxury at the time. Marriages often came in the form of strategic contracts, aiming for political and financial gain, and that will not be the case for Brian and Ellen- even if it was exactly what happened with Jamie and Claire at first.
Outlander always aired with Gabaldon’s own consent to the story, but this time, the writers might have to go a bit array with the upcoming sequel. Blood Of My Blood is not expected to be following the events in any book. Although the book series is known for having a large number of novellas and short stories complementing the main novels, there is only one prequel named “Virgins,” which follows the story of a 19-year-old Jamie in 18th-century France, working as a mercenary. Despite there not existing any other prequels related to the Frasers’ past, Gabaldon has ensured that the book related to that family is also in the works.
In addition to working on the tenth book in the saga- expected to be the last one- Gabaldon revealed in a tweet to have been working on the early stage of a prequel book focusing on Ellen MacKenzie. The new novel will also take place well prior to “Virgins,” making it a fair assumption that Gabaldon will take part in the upcoming spin-off as well. It is not yet clear whether Ellen will be the main character in Blood of My Blood, but it’s a certainty that at least some of the story has been strategically planned out by the writer.
Will Sam Heughan and Caitriona Balfe return for the spin-off?
However unlikely it may be, it is always a possibility. In June, Sam Heughan told Esquire UK about the upcoming plans for the prequel, where he weighed in on his role in the spin-off, breaking off any hopes fans had for the face we’ve come to know as Jamie Fraser.
“All I can tell you is I’m not in it, as Jamie’s not in it. I believe that it’s a prequel focusing on Jamie’s parents when they were younger, so I guess you might see a young version of him at some point.”
All hope may be wavering, but not all is lost. The actor also admitted that due to Outlander’s flexible time grasp- namely, time travel- it is always a possibility that the actor would return to play an older Jamie back again. As readers of the saga may recall, Jamie did not inherit the gene that allows people to time travel through the stones, unlike his wife Claire, and his daughter Brianna. While it may be unlikely to see Jamie traveling to the past, Heughan appears to be more than willing to participate in the sequel in the upcoming future.
“I think I may be a little too old to play young Jamie now! I could play his dad maybe, or a flash forward? It is time travel, after all.”
As for Caitriona, she hasn’t yet placed all her cards on the table or even commented on the subject. Considering the actress recently welcomed her first child alongside her husband Tony McGuill, the 43-year-old may be looking to spend some time with her family. It may be very unlikely that she would be included on the show, however, unless Claire had to meet her in-laws at some point in time.
Outlander: Blood of My Blood still has no release date, but you can catch up on Outlander on Netflix or Starz, as you await for the upcoming season, expected to come out during summer 2023.
