Okay, the newly-debuted opening title credit sequence for the upcoming Outlander prequel series Blood of My Blood gave me chills. It looks absolutely stunning. We see the landscapes of the Scottish Highlands, a bonfire, and intimate moments between romantic partners, all intercut with the theme song's soft strings and Julie Fowlis's singing in both English and Gaelic.
Blood of My Blood is an upcoming historical romance series about the parents of Jamie Fraser (Sam Heughan) and Claire Beauchamp (Caitríona Balfe). There will reportedly be a time-traveling element in the prequel, just like in the original. And while Outlander is based on Diana Gabaldon's books, this show draws from a few different elements.
Some of the plot is taken from the books that have already been published, but last November the author told TV Insider she had enough material in mind to write three (shorter) novels about Jamie's parents. She also worked on two scripts for Blood of My Blood, so fans can rest assured that this show is still in line with her overall vision.
Outlander opening titles have always been integral to the series
Why release opening credits at all? Well, the Outlander opening credits were praised from the beginning for their gorgeous visuals and riveting rendition of the folk tune "The Skye Boat Song" that has evolved season after season, so it makes sense why prequel showrunner Matthew B. Roberts was intent on getting this title sequence for the prequel just right. And it sets the tone for the entire show in a more evocative way than a trailer would.
I think Roberts and the team nailed it. The comments on Starz's YouTube video are mostly positive as well. "If a title sequence is an indicator of how stunning a series is going to be, safe to say the prequel is going to be so beautiful," one person wrote.
Starz's prequel series will follow Jamie's parents Ellen MacKenzie (Harriet Slater) and Brian Fraser (Jamie Roy) in 18th century Scotland, and Claire's parents Julia Moriston (Hermione Corfield) and Henry Beauchamp (Jeremy Irvine) during World War I.
According to Roberts, there's a story within the title sequence itself that will become apparent as the season progresses. The showrunner told Variety that getting the titles sequence just right was quite a lengthy process. They brought in composer Outlander composer Bear McCreary early on, but Roberts says that their initial version of the sequence looked too much like a "travelogue" with all the Scotland visuals (hey, I'm not complaining, I could look at those all day).
But in the end it came together in the beautiful video embedded above. It wasn't until post-production started to "pull images and tie them together" that the sequence really evolved into something special with moments like the one where the running Highlanders smoothly transition into soldiers in the throes of battle. “That moment became the inspiration for the whole title, and we started looking at those pieces to create this dance that would tell both sides of the story of Henry and Julia, and Brian and Ellen. That’s what got the ball rolling.”
Blood of My Blood will feature 10 episodes and premiere on Starz on August 8.
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