SDCC ’25: OUTLANDER has its first-ever Hall H double feature

by Ani Bundel

Outlander and Twilight are usually given the bulk of the blame for the rise of queue culture at San Diego Comic-Con, both because they are woman-oriented properties (and therefore not quite up to snuff in the minds of fanbois) and because it’s true. Engaging the fandoms of those two books was a major step forward in SDCC’s explosive growth over the 2010s.

For all of that, Outlander has never graced the Hall H stage in its 12 years on the air. However, it was finally given that honor for the eighth and final season, which the panel confirmed would arrive on Starz in 2026. Hosted by Aisha Tyler, the panel—which included actors Sam Heughan, Sophie Skelton, and Richard Rankin, plus executive producer Maril Davis and showrunner Matthew B. Roberts—also gave fans the first look at the trailer for the show’s final season.

It was fitting that Outlander finally got the biggest room available for its final turn at SDCC, as the series has maintained a passionate fanbase despite the series being stuck on Starz, one of the streaming services decidedly not thriving in the current landscape. Caitriona Balfe was unable to attend (she just joined the cast of the forthcoming adaptation of Sense & Sensibility from Focus Features, which is currently filming overseas), so she sent a video thanking the fans for sticking with the show through thick and thin. And as Davis pointed out, over a decade and change they’ve watched each other grow up, get married and have kids: “The Outlander cast is a family.”

That family atmosphere was present both in the Outlander and the Outlander: Blood of My Blood panels, which took place back-to-back. Then prequel series, which will follow the stories of both Jamie and Claire’s parents, debuts in less than two weeks—a reminder of how far the franchise has come that it would now get a prime Hall H spot for a show that hasn’t yet aired a single minute of footage.

Moderated by Kate Hahn of TV Guide Magazine, the Blood of My Blood panel featured Matthew B. Roberts and Maril Davis with new cast members Jamie Roy and Harriet Slater (Jamie’s parents, Brian Fraser and Ellen MacKenzie), Hermione Corfield (Claire’s mother, Julia Moriston), Sam Retford and Seamus McLean Ross (as Dougal and Colum MacKenzie), and Rory Alexander (as Murtagh Fitzgibbons Fraser). Jeremy Irvine (Claire’s father, Henry Beauchamp) was also absent and sent a pre-recorded video. 

The trailer for this show is already out, but fans were given sneak peaks at both Jamie and Claire’s parents from the show’s opening episodes. Apparently the two sets of lovers will be introduced separately across the show’s first two installments, which is why Starz confirmed BOMB will arrive with a double episode premiere.

As for those characters we have yet to meet, it was acknowledged that Jamie Roy’s resemblance to Sam Heughan is almost uncanny. It led to how he accidentally wound-up cast first, as Roy came in to audition for a guest star turn in the main Outlander series, only for the producers to say, “Oh, look, it’s Jamie’s dad.”

Graham McTavish in the audience at Hall H

As for the characters we have already met, the honor of best question went to audience member Graham McTavish (yes, the same Graham McTavish who plays Dougal McKenzie in Outlander) for Sam Retford, who plays the young Dougal McKenzie. The question was naturally about how he managed to be such a hair farmer (McTavish is famously a cueball). Retford told the assembled crowd he’s only met McTavish upon arriving at the event, “And it was very strangely like meeting my dad.”

If Outlander: Blood of My Blood can keep that sort of family atmosphere going, it’ll run at least 12 years too. The new series debuts on Starz on Sunday, August 8 with two back-to-back episodes. Outlander Season 8 (Part 1!) debuts in early 2026.

Stay tuned to The Beat for more coverage from SDCC ’25.