With a writer as prolific as bestselling Outlander author Diana Gabaldon to draw material and inspiration from, the prequel could go in any of several directions. Will it feature the love story of Jamie’s parents? Or possibly the story of Jamie’s life before he met Claire? Or something we haven’t even thought of yet? What we do know is, the project has already been a while in the making: Back in January 2021, executive producer Ronald D. Moore hinted to The Hollywood Reporter, “Conversations are underway on both [Outlander] Season 7 and spinoffs. I think we will have good news on both those fronts before too long, so I feel optimistic about it. I agree that it should have happened before this, but everything happens in its time, and I think that both of those things are probably going to happen and, hopefully, we will be able to say something about it before too long.” Keep reading for everything we know so far about an upcoming Outlander prequel at Starz!
When will the Outlander prequel air?
No date yet has been set for the Outlander prequel, but it’s fair to say that it probably won’t premiere until after Season 7 of Outlander airs, which won’t be until 2023. Since Season 6 of Outlander had to be shortened due to COVID-19 protocols and Caitríona Balfe’s pregnancy, Season 7 of Outlander will take close to a year to film as it will be 18 episodes long. And while neither Sam Heughan nor Balfe will appear in the prequel, it’s most likely that the same crew will be used to film on location in Scotland, so production on Season 7 would have to wrap before they are available.
Who will write the Outlander prequel?
According to Variety, Outlander executive producer and showrunner Matthew B. Roberts will write as well as executive produce the prequel. At press time, he was assembling a writers’ room to work with him on the pilot. Current Outlander executive producer Maril Davis will join Roberts in the writers’ room and also executive produce the prequel for their Tall Ship Productions banner.
What will the Outlander prequel be about?
That still is anyone’s guess, but we can speculate. It is possible that it will be about the love story of Jamie Fraser’s parents Brian and Ellen. Gabaldon, who created the Outlander universe, has talked about writing a prequel on that very subject. In fact, on a Feb. 3 Facebook post, Gabaldon shared what could be the first line in the book: “Ellen MacKenzie, eldest of the children of Jacob Ruadh MacKenzie, chief of Clan MacKenzie—well, the late chief, if only by moments, but she’d think about that later—grabbed Ailidh Watt from behind and dragged her out of sight, clapping a hand over her slobbering mouth to stifle her cries.” She also previously told Town and Country about the prequel, “[It’s] the story of Jamie Fraser’s parents, Brian and Ellen… I’ve been carrying that one around in my head for quite a while, so I know quite a bit about it. And I’ve just started serious work on it, you might say. So, I have actual scenes, things like that.” Worth noting: It’s unknown whether Gabaldon would allow a TV prequel about Brian and Ellen to tell their story before she has released her novel. Another possibility is to focus the story on a young Jamie Fraser and Ian Murray in 1740s France, loosely basing it on Gabaldon’s Virgins novella, which was released in 2013 as part of the Dangerous Women anthology. The problem with that would be that Outlander readers and TV show viewers know who will be Jamie’s great love and Ian’s will be Jamie’s sister Jenny, so the romance that makes Outlander viewers tune in would be missing. Also, Outlander struck gold when they cast Heughan as Jamie. Imagine how hard it would be to find a younger actor to walk in his shoes? And yet another idea would be to create a prequel centered on Master Raymond, the time-traveler Claire met in Paris in Dragonfly in Amber at the apothecary shop. Gabaldon has also discussed the possibility of writing a novel, if not a series of books based on his character and his adventures. There is also the possibility of telling the story of Jamie’s Aunt Jocasta (Maria Doyle Kennedy). She’s had an astonishing life: four husbands, the move from Scotland with the Frenchman’s Gold treasure that was meant to fund the rebellion and the building of River Run in the New World. She is a woman with a lot of moxie, and while maybe not as modern as Claire in her outlook on life, she is definitely a woman who takes charge of her life. That said, the prequel could go in a completely different direction, something that is the creation of executive producer Roberts and his team.
Does the prequel mean that Season 7 of Outlander will be its final season?
Again, there is no way to predict that. If Heughan and Balfe renew their contracts for an eighth season of Outlander, which hasn’t happened yet, it seems very likely that Starz would want to continue the time-travel, romantic epic as it has been an extremely successful series for them and could be a great launching pad for the prequel. Next, Check Out the Latest Sneak Peek From Season 6 of Outlander and Find Out Which Cast Member Calls It His Favorite Season Yet
