‘Outlander’ Has Cast Two More Huge Characters For Season 3: Read The Official Synopsis For The New Episodes
Outlander just added two important characters for its upcoming season.
With production for Season 3 now underway, Jamie (Sam Heughan) and Claire (Caitriona Balfe) will be joined by Young Ian and Joe Abernathy when Outlander returns to Starz next year.
Who was cast for these pivotal parts?
Deadline reports that The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies’ John Bell is playing Young Ian, and Waking the Dead’s Wil Johnson will appear as Claire’s close friend and colleague, Joe Abernathy.
Season 3 of Outlander is adapted from Diana Gabaldon’s third book in the Outlander franchise, titled Voyager.
The season will start with Claire and Jamie living separate lives after the Battle of Culloden.
Claire returned to her husband, Frank (Tobias Menzies), in 1948 and is struggling with adjusting to her new life. She’s also busy raising her daughter and exploring what it’s like to be a mother.
?New Picture of Tobias On Set of #Outlander Season 3 in Glasgow #TobiaMenzies pic.twitter.com/MkC3fVQjb6
— Wanda Serrano (@wanda_211) September 21, 2016
For his part, fans will see Jamie deal with the fallout after the fight at Culloden. Although Jamie survived the bloody battle, he struggles with the end of the rebellion and the loss of Claire.
Of course, both Jamie and Claire will have help dealing with their various issues.
Bell’s Young Ian is more like his uncle Jamie than anyone else in the family. However, he is still a tall, lanky Scottish boy with a lot to learn when fans are first introduced to him.
Bell is known for his role as Bain in final two Hobbit films. He also starred in BBC’s Life of Riley and CBBC’s Tracy Breaker Returns. Other credits include Midsomer Murders, Hatfields & McCoys, and Wrath of the Titans.
Meanwhile, Johnson’s Outlander character becomes a close friend and confidant to Claire.
Abernathy first met Claire in medical school and quickly develops a strong bond with Jamie’s wife. Abernathy is described as an intelligent man with a charismatic attitude and good sense of humor.
"Outlander" adds two key cast members for Season 3https://t.co/ayFeNW90Ru
— Mashable (@mashable) September 20, 2016
Despite his humor, Abernathy struggles to find his place in a world rife with racial boundaries, including the all-white and male-dominated medical profession.
Johnson has played in a number of different television roles, including Waterloo Road, Cracker, Holby City, Waking the Dead, and Babyfather.
According to E! Online, Bell and Johnson will not share any scenes together next season because their characters live in separate centuries and will not be time traveling anytime soon.
In addition to Bell and Johnson, Hypable reports that Starz recently announced that David Berry would play the all-important role of Lord John Grey moving forward.
Lord John is a hugely important character in the books, and Gabaldon even wrote a variety of spin-off novels devoted solely to the character.
It isn’t clear how large a role Lord John will play in the series, although fans could expect to see a lot of the character when Season 3 returns next year, especially considering how Jamie and Claire are now living centuries apart.
The official synopsis for Season 3 read, “…As the years pass, Jamie and Claire attempt to make a life apart from one another, each haunted by the memory of their lost love. The budding possibility that Claire can return to Jamie in the past breathes new hope into Claire’s heart… as well as new doubt. Separated by continents and centuries, Claire and Jamie must find their way back to each other.”
Starz has not announced an official premiere date for the new season of Outlander, although it is expected to arrive sometime in early 2017.
A fourth season of the hit show has already been approved and will be based on Gabaldon’s fourth book, titled Drums of Autumn.
Tell us! What do you think of all the Season 3 casting so far? Let us know in the comments and watch Sam Heughan welcome fans to the Outlander set in the clip below.
[Featured Image by Starz]
