Outlander has been at San Diego Comic-Con the last two years, but it won’t be there this summer.
Outlander has had a great history of making appearances at Comic-Con events to promote the show at both West Coast and East Coast events over the years. This year, though, we can count San Diego Comic-Con out.
As producer Maril Davis explained recently on Twitter, studios don’t go to Comic-Con with a product if they have nothing new to promote. By the time San Diego Comic-Con rolls around in July 2016, all of season 2 will have aired, and season 3 (which hasn’t been officially greenlit yet, but is certainly coming) will not have begun production.
@toney_julie @OutlanderItaly no reason to worry. Usually u go to CC to promote your new season and show sneak peeks. S2 will be done.
— Maril Davis (@TallShipProds) May 17, 2016
A good example of skipping San Diego Comic-Con is the mega blockbuster series Twilight. Twilight had a heavy presence at Comic-Con in 2008 for Twilight and 2009 for The Twilight Saga: New Moon. Those films came out in November 2008 and November 2009 respectively. The studio was also there in 2011 and 2012 for The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn parts 1 and 2.
You may have noticed, The Twilight Saga: Eclipse was not present at San Diego Comic-Con in 2010. Why is that? The answer is simple. It filmed, wrapped, and debuted after San Diego Comic-Con 2009 but before San Diego Comic-Con 2010. Did this skip hurt the franchise? The Twilight Saga: Eclipse which was not present at any Comic-Con was the most successful film in the entire series at the domestic box office, and the film that followed, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn parts 1 finished as the number three movie in 2011 with an almost 18 month hiatus after The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, so we’re going to vote that no momentum was lost.
For a series in progress, studios show up when they have something to show like teasers, costume plots, new casting announcements. They will save the expense of bringing their showrunners and actors to an event, when they’ve got something to promote that will gather lots of chat and buzz to bring in new fans. Now this isn’t to say that Outlander might not pop up at other events like Wonder-Con or Comic-Con 2017, it’s just going to happen, if it happens, a little later.
@corinnestark752 @OutlanderItaly @STARZ_Channel and if/when we get the green light we would be in prep and crazy busy! :)
— Maril Davis (@TallShipProds) May 17, 2016
As for season 3 not yet having been officially given the greenlight, it’s not an all points red alert issue. Cable TV tends to announce these things when they can dominate a press cycle and make a splash. The midst of network cancellations and pick ups is not necessarily the best time to do this. Outlander ratings, even with a dip last week, have been positive. It was noticed at the Golden Globes, which is huge for a debut series. The show has early Emmy buzz. The show also struck up an innovative deal with Amazon whereby viewers can watch there. All of this adds up to more potential viewers and more revenue, which in the end, more than other factors, is what drives renewal.
As we’ve stated before, the show is in early season 3 preparations. Sure, anything could happen, but in the land of the highly probable, Outlander season 3 seems as likely to happen as Jamie is saying, “Dinna fash, Sassenach.” about 12 more times before season 2 is over. Once that greenlight happens, the creative team goes from early prep to full-scale whirlwind. As book readers realize, there are again a whole series of new locations that will be needed. The creative team and actors will be wrapped up in production. They’ll get to promotion, but they’ll have to have something to promote first.
In the meantime, enjoy the series. We’re at the halfway mark with lots more to come.
Outlander airs on Saturday at 9:00 pm on Starz.