Sam Heughan on the End of ‘Outlander’ — ‘I Know How It Ends, Diana Has Told Me’

ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS

• Sam Heughan has starred as Jamie Fraser on the megahit Outlander for 6 seasons.
• Diana Gabaldon just started writing the 10th and final book in the series that the show is based on.
• Even though Gabaldon has not physically written the end of the series, she still knows how it will end and has shared the secret with Heughan.

Sam Heughan is one of the most famous Scottish actors on the planet because of Outlander and Jamie Fraser. He’s played the 18th century Highlander since 2014, alongside Caitriona Balfe’s Claire. And their time-traveling love story has captured fans’ attention for more than five seasons so far.

But all good things must eventually come to an end. And Heughan is already starting to talk about his exit from the franchise. He recently revealed that Outlander author Diana Gabaldon has told him how Jamie and Claire’s story ends.

Sam Heughan says that Jamie and Claire won’t always be the focus of ‘Outlander’

It was recently revealed that an Outlander prequel was in development at Starz, with Outlander showrunner and executive producer Matthew B. Roberts attached to the project as a writer and EP. Variety also reported that the writer’s room is being staffed for the prequel. But as for the plot details, those are being kept quiet.

There’s speculation that it could focus on Jamie’s parents Brian Fraser and Ellen MacKenzie. Or it could be based on another part of the Outlander literary universe — like the Lord John series.

During a recent interview with The Times, Heughan noted that Gabaldon “has so many other books” that can be used as source material to expand the Outlander TV universe. He also revealed that during the current season of Outlander they would “start to pull on more of what’s going on in, dare I say, other parts of time.”

Diana Gabaldon has told him how the story ends

Gabaldon has known the end to Jamie and Claire’s story for two decades. But she just started writing the 10th and final book last year. She hasn’t finished the novel just yet. But Heughan says Gabaldon has shared with him how the main Outlander series ends.

“I know how it ends, Diana has told me, but we still have a long way to go before we get to that,” Heughan said.

As fans know, each season of Outlander is loosely based on the corresponding book. Currently, they are in season 6, which is based on the sixth book A Breath of Snow and Ashes. If the one book per season model continues, that would mean 10 seasons of Outlander in total before the finale. But as Heughan points out, it will be a while before we get there.

Gabaldon has said in the past that Jamie’s ghost — which hasn’t been seen since the pilot episode — will return at the end of the story. And she promises plenty of tears. She also says the story will end in the year 1800.

“The last book will have a happy ending, though I confidently expect it to leave the readers in floods of tears, anyway,” Gabaldon wrote on her website.

Sam Heughan can see ‘Outlander’ without him

With the Outlander literary universe being so large, Heughan says it’s easy to see an expanding TV universe without him or Jamie being a part of it. Heughan also noted that in season 6, they will start to focus on other characters besides Jamie and Claire. And that will continue in future seasons.

“I can absolutely see Outlander without me,” Heughan said. “Diana Gabaldon has this whole world in her head, and how she ties up all those loose ends I have no idea,” Heughan said.

“We’re really starting to see these other stories, a lot of the other characters have their own storylines. This season, and definitely next season, we are going to see a lot more of that coming into play.”

New episodes of Outlander air Sunday nights on Starz.