The cast of Outlander season three has expanded by two. Starz confirmed John Bell will be taking on the role of Young Ian and Wil Johnson will play Joe Abernathy in the upcoming season based on Diana Gabaldon’s third book in the Outlander series, Voyager. Filming is currently underway on season three of the romantic drama starring Sam Heughan as Jamie Fraser and Caitriona Balfe as Claire Fraser.
Season three’s cast also includes Tobias Menzies as Frank Randall, David Berry as Lord John Grey, Richard Rankin as Roger Wakefield, and Sophie Skelton as Brianna Randall.
18 year-old John Bell’s credits include Doctor Who, Wrath of the Titans, The Hobbit – The Desolation of Smaug and The Battle of the Five Armies, Life of Riley, and Hatfields & McCoys. Wil Johnson’s resume includes Waterloo Road, Holby City, Cracker, Babyfather, and Waking the Dead.
Young Ian and Joe Abernathy character descriptions, courtesy of Starz:
“Young Ian Murray is a tall, gangly Scottish lad with a heart of gold, a stubborn streak and a penchant for getting into trouble. Bursting with charm, he’s more like his adventurous, fierce uncle Jamie Fraser than his farmer father Ian — but when we meet him, he is still a very gawky boy. However, he keeps trying to prove that he is a man and we will see him grow into quite a formidable one as the series evolves.”
“Joe Abernathy is a fellow doctor-in-training whom Claire befriends in medical school. Intelligent, charismatic, with a wry and irreverent sense of humor, Joe is a loyal confidant with great affection for Claire. He puts on a good face, but he is all too aware of his place in the Civil Rights era. Joe and Claire both feel out of place in the mostly all-white, all-male medical field, which bonds them together in a life-long friendship.”
The Season 3 Plot:
The third season of Outlander picks up right after Claire travels through the stones to return to her life in 1948. Now pregnant, she struggles with the fallout of her sudden reappearance and its effect on her marriage to her first husband, Frank. Meanwhile, in the 18th century, Jamie suffers from the aftermath of his doomed last stand at the historic battle of Culloden, as well as the loss of Claire. As the years pass, Jamie and Claire attempt to make a life apart from one another, each haunted by the memory of their lost love.
The budding possibility that Claire can return to Jamie in the past breathes new hope into Claire’s heart… as well as new doubt. Separated by continents and centuries, Claire and Jamie must find their way back to each other. As always, adversity, mystery and adventure await them on the path to reunion. And the question remains: When they find each other, will they be the same people who parted at the standing stones, all those years ago?
