'Outlander' Season 3 Spoilers, Premiere Date and Updates: Jaime to Age 'Considerably,' Upcoming Season Likely to Premiere Late

By Krixia Zhienelle Subingsubing, Tuesday, September 27, 2016

Starz's highly anticipated time travel series "Outlander" is currently in production, but by the way things are going, it seems that fans can't expect the show to return this year. "Outlander," after all, is a logistical nightmare by nature, something that even showrunner Ronald Moore had previously acknowledged.

In an interview with Cinemablend, Sam Heughan, who plays Jamie Fraser in the epic-drama series, said the "Outlander" cast and crew are expected to shoot until May in South Africa. They'll go straight to shooting for Season 4, which has already been ordered by Starz last July. Factoring in the post-production work and editing that has to be done before airing, it's likely that the "Outlander" series will get a year in between seasons.

Why it takes that long to shoot "Outlander"

For everyone wondering why the series takes that long to air again: the "Outlander" series is based on the Diana Gabaldon's book series of the same name. The book by which Season 3 will be based on, "Voyage," is pretty dense with material. It also features a lot of time travelling, which means several shooting locations, multiple era-appropriate costume and set changes.

Ronald Moore, "Outlander" showrunner, likened this process to "shooting a whole new series" every season. The story has since jumped from the Atlantic, to the Jamaican Islands, to the New World, and now, South Africa. While the whole thing is exciting creatively, this constantly changing production is difficult and expensive to pull off.

Spoilers for "Outlander" Season 3

But worry not, dear "Outlander" fans, as the first two episodes have already been completed. The series will be picking up where Season 2 left off: Clare Randall/Fraser (played by Caitrona Balfe) figured out that Jamie survived the Battle of Culloden. Twenty years has passed since they last saw each other, however, which means both characters will be dealing with "big emotional stuff," Sam Heughan revealed in an interview with Elle.

The "Outlander" leading actor also revealed that Jamie has aged considerably, but refused to dish on other spoilers on the time travel series. But since the season will be based on the "Voyager" book, fans could expect Clare and Jaime reuniting in Edinburgh, with the latter having turned into a liquor smuggler under the disguise of "Alex Malcolm." The two will embark on several voyages across the sea, and eventually wash up on the shores of Georgia.

Excited for "Outlander" Season 3? Watch out for further announcements on its Season 3 premiere date!