A look ahead at season 4: What we know thus far

[jo]

Is it too early to talk about season 4? Well, with no new episode this Sunday, we need to talk about something, right? I will try to keep this as general as possible, but be aware that if you've not read the 4th book in the series, Drums of Autumn, there may be some mild spoilers here.

Location, location, location! Season 4 is based on the 4th book by Diana Gabaldon, Drums of Autumn. This one takes place primarily in the colonies, specifically North Carolina. While many US-based Outlander fans were hoping this would mean production would shift from Scotland to the US, it was announced earlier this year that they would be filming in Scotland. However, more recently, Ron D. Moore mentioned that some filming would likely also take place in "Eastern Europe". This doesn't surprise me -- while it does snow in Scotland, they don't get the amounts of snow that are referenced in the novel, and I think the crew is looking for more properly mountainous areas to film some of the outdoor action. What hasn't been mentioned by anyone (to my knowledge) is what they plan to do about ship scenes. A couple of characters undertake sea journeys in DofA -- will they return to South Africa for that or make do with mostly interior shots?

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Season 4 Casting Announcement: Jocasta and Stephen Bonnet

[jo]

Two key casting announcements from Starz for Outlander's season 4:

Maria Doyle Kennedy will play Jamie's aunt Jocasta, and Ed Speleers takes on the role of nasty Stephen Bonnet.

Both are Downton Abbey alumni -- Kennedy played Mr. Bates' nasty ex-wife Vera, while Speleers played footman Jimmy.

Must say that Kennedy is much younger than I would have envisioned for Jocasta, but the casting has been so bang-on perfect thus far, I'm not concerned. Although, Speleers will have a way to go to get me to shed my impression of him as that nice Jimmy lad...