‘Outlander’ season 3: The journey to South Africa begins; odds and ends

The third season of “Outlander” recently hit a milestone courtesy of filming wrapping in Scotland; now, we’re going to be seeing the cast and crew heading to the other side of the globe!

For your latest update on the state of things in South Africa, what we can say at the moment is that the sets are being constructed for the massive amount of work that needs to be done in the country. Not only that, but many producers and crew members are already en route to the country. Before anyone asks, as of this second it’s rather difficult to say for certain every single person who is currently traveling — we just know that many are on their way (Also, we understand why many people would want to keep it private and therefore don’t want to do too much digging here — after this long of a travel day, aren’t you just going to want a quiet arrival on the other side of it? The first thing we’d probably want to do is sleep, given that we’re never able to do that on a plane.)

There is going to be a good bit of work that will need to be done before the show even starts filming, so don’t assume that come tomorrow or even Monday, there is a ton of new footage in the can. What we do know is that the cast and crew will be spending a few months there, presumably until the May. In other words, there’s plenty of time.

Here are a few other things to keep in mind, if you haven’t heard too much about them already…

1. South Africa = Jamaica – That is the idea. It’s hard to recreate the sort of scenes that the show needs from Voyager. The landscape is very different, and there’s very specific studio work that needs to be done to make it appear that you are sailing around in the middle of the ocean.

2. The “Black Sails” effect – As we’ve said a few times in the past, the crew in South Africa knows how to do scenes at sea — they’ve done it for years with this other drama on Starz. This is a huge resource that’s worth taking advantage of in the weeks ahead.

3. The show isn’t likely making a permanent move – If you’ve read the books, you know that Jamaica isn’t the permanent home of Jamie and Claire Fraser. They will be heading elsewhere. One of the questions we’ve gotten frequently as of late is whether or not they are done with Scotland forever given the show’s massive change in setting, and the only answer that we’ve got for now is “not necessarily.” Remember that there are certainly many interior scenes that could still be filmed in Scotland if the architecture is there; also, the story will be heading to a different, less-tropical climate beyond season 3 that could be easier replicated in Scotland … maybe. This is all speculation on our part, but don’t rule it out just yet.

Of course, we’re going to continue to be your go-to source for all things “Outlander” throughout the hiatus! Stay tuned — also, head over here to score some other news right now when it comes to the show. (Photo: Starz.)