The seventh season of the hit series Outlander is currently in production in Scotland and STARZ has just delighted fans with a number of casting announcements! The network not only announced that a couple of new actors will be joining the series in the upcoming season, but they also revealed that a number of fan-favorite characters will make their return alongside series stars Caitríona Balfe and Sam Heughan.
Outlander is based on the international best-selling book series of the same name by Diana Gabaldon. The series blends the genres of science fiction, historical fiction, romance, and adventure as it follows a World War 2 nurse Claire (Balfe) who gets transported back in time to 1743 Scotland. She soon falls in love with a Highland warrior Jamie Fraser (Heughan) and finds herself in the middle of the Jacobite rising, a real-life attempt by Charles Edward Stuart to usurp the British Throne with the help of the Scottish and French.
The actors joining the cast in the upcoming season are Gloria Obianyo, Rod Hallett, Chris Fulton, Diarmaid Murtagh, and Kristin Atherton. Obianyo, known for appearing in Dune, will be joining as Mercy Woodcock, a free Black woman living in Colonial America. Hallett will be playing a notorious traitor in American history, Benedict Arnold. Fulton will be playing a new ally to help our heroes, Rob Cameron. Murtagh, who previously starred in Vikings, will be “Buck MacKenzie,” the illegitimate son of Dougal MacKenzie. Atherton will be taking over the role of Jenny Murray, sister of the main character Jamie Fraser (Heughan), from Laura Donnelly, who played the character in the first three seasons.
The season will also see several cast members return after long absences from the show. Many of the names may stick out as odd to fans of the series as some belong to characters who have died. Others belong to various members of the Fraser family, hinting at a possible family reunion. The actors set to return to the series for Season 7 are Graham McTavish, Nell Hudson, Steven Cree, Andrew Whipp, Layla Burns, and Lotte Verbeek. McTavish, who can be seen currently starring in HBO’s House of the Dragon, previously played war chieftain “Dougal MacKenzie” in the first two seasons. He also played the character’s illegitimate son briefly in Season 5, although as mentioned above that role will now be played by Murtagh. Hudson will be returning to portray “Laoghaire Fraser,” Jamie's ex-wife, after appearing in the first four seasons. Cree will be returning as “Old Ian Murray,” Jamie’s brother-in-law, who also appeared throughout the first four seasons. Whipp is returning as Jamie’s father “Brian Fraser”, who was last seen in a couple of episodes in the first season, as the character died before the series even began. Burns is returning as Jaime’s stepdaughter “Joan MacKimmie”, after playing the character in the third and fourth seasons. Lastly, Verbeek will return as the fan-favorite antagonist “Geillis Duncan”, after playing the character in the first three seasons.
About these cast additions Matthew B. Roberts, showrunner, writer, and executive producer on the series, had this to say:
“One of the many joys of our epic story is the element of time travel which allows us to revisit some of our favorite characters in different times and places, and we’re thrilled to welcome back so many familiar faces for season seven. In addition to our returning cast, we’re also excited to welcome several new actors to the ‘Outlander’ family and cannot wait to introduce them to fans in our extended season.”
Stay tuned to Collider for any future updates on Season 7 of Outlander, or check out the STARZ website. Check out the trailer for the first season below: