Outlander is just about at the half-way mark for season 2, but fans want to know when season 3 is going to be greenlit. Nothing official has been announced yet, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t Outlander season 3 plans in the works.
With the series being wildly successful for Starz and more viewers coming on board regularly, plus the early talk of Emmy nominations, a season 3 seems like it’s a matter of “when,” not “if.” In fact, there are already plans in the works.
Executive producer Ron Moore took time to answer some fan questions on his Twitter just before he attended a Giant’s baseball game Friday night, and he let us know that he’s begun to prepare for season 3:
@phillyoutlander Nothing official yet but I'm very, very optimistic and we're actively starting to plan.
— Ronald D. Moore (@RonDMoore) May 7, 2016
For those who are not acquainted with the novels, the third book in Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series is called Voyager, and a significant portion of that novel takes place aboard a series of ships.
@KateGracen Very exciting to talk about the ships. Whole season looks like a lot of fun. Very challenging – but that's Outlander
— Ronald D. Moore (@RonDMoore) May 7, 2016
@SassenachSJ Voyager is a little easier in terms of story but very complex for production
— Ronald D. Moore (@RonDMoore) May 7, 2016
Without spoiling non-book readers, there are several new roles for season 3 that everyone will want to know about. At the top of that list will be the role of Ian. Not Ian Murray, Jamie’s brother-in-law, that we have already met, but a different Ian.
@Allysonheather Not yet
— Ronald D. Moore (@RonDMoore) May 7, 2016
Some fans tried to get Moore to dish if season 3 would begin filming in the fall, which is a decent guess as to timing, but Moore wouldn’t be tricked.
@phillyoutlander My superstitious nature will not allow me to answer this question.
— Ronald D. Moore (@RonDMoore) May 7, 2016
All-in-all, you can tell that Moore is doing a project that he seems to consider a labor of love.
@Chalmers01 We start with all the book scenes up on the board and work from there
— Ronald D. Moore (@RonDMoore) May 7, 2016
@peggyvanslp Breaking stories in writers room and working in editorial
— Ronald D. Moore (@RonDMoore) May 7, 2016
@Dumspirospero67 @Writer_DG It's a long complicated process. We always start with the book and only make changes we feel necessary for TV
— Ronald D. Moore (@RonDMoore) May 7, 2016
Diana Gabaldon’s next Outlander novel might come out around the time that a season 3 would air if the timing works out as we reported earlier this year. Her most recent novel, Written in My Own Hearts Blood, came out just before Outlander season 1 aired.
Regardless of whether the timing works, Gabaldon won’t have a George R.R. Martin problem with the show coming out ahead of her novels. Gabaldon has a larger volume of source material published than Martin does. It seems unlikely that Outlander would “lap her” should the series continue.
When will the official notice come? To be honest, we’re a little surprised it hasn’t been announced already as Starz tends to greenlight quickly. In any case, we aren’t mind readers, but we’re wondering if it will come at the half-way mark this season, and that’s just on the horizon.