It's the end of an era for Outlander fans. The eighth and final season of the flagship historical drama series began rolling out on Starz in March 2026, with the series finale scheduled to air in May. Even though we knew it was coming, it's still devastating to have to say goodbye to Claire and Jamie once and for all. But will it really be once and for all?
While the Outlander franchise will live on thanks to the hit prequel series Outlander: Blood of My Blood, which follows Claire and Jamie's parents, the original series that everyone fell in love with won't be coming back. Ahead of the series finale's airing later this spring, series stars Caitríona Balfe and Sam Heughan were asked by People magazine if they would ever reprise their characters.
As it turns out, both Balfe and Heughan aren't shutting the door completely on ever reprising their roles as Claire and Jamie in the future. "I think we always say, never say never," Balfe said, before Heughan echoed her sentiment with his own "Never say never." That's not a concrete yes, but it's also not a concrete no! However, the stars did have some conditionals on returning.
For most actors, the possibility of reprising an iconic role in a beloved project, whether it's a movie or a series, always comes down to returning for a reason. Most actors will say that if there's a good idea, a solid script, and everyone's on board, then that's what it would take to bring them back for a reboot, revival, sequel, what have you. And that's not far off from what Balfe told People.
"I think, definitely, it would have to be, if there was a great script and it gave these characters a good reason to revisit them," the actress continued.
Meanwhile, Heughan joked that he would like to have a future spinoff take place in Hawaii to allow for the Frasers to have something of a vacation, and for he and Balfe to film in a tropical location. Well, that's probably unlikely to happen, but the fact that they both feel so strongly about their characters that they are willing to someday reprise them with the right story is very special.
Even though Outlander will have produced eight seasons and 101 episodes by the time the series finale airs on May 8, the hit series hasn't adapted every book in series written by author Diana Gabaldon. There are still stories left to be told, including the forthcoming tenth and final book in the saga, which was announced in May 2025 and will be titled A Blessing for a Warrior Going Out.
The final Outlander novel still doesn't have a release date, but if there's ever some kind of revival or spinoff of the main series, the book could obviously serve as its inspiration. There's no continuation in the works as the show prepares to bid its farewells, but given its popularity since 2014, there's no doubt Outlander will continue to have a very bright future.