Why isn’t Outlander season 4 at San Diego Comic-Con this year?

Given that today marks the start of San Diego Comic-Con for most of the public (last night was preview night), it feels like now is the appropriate time to raise the following question (or at least remind you of it, if you’ve heard before): Why isn’t Outlander there? Why not bring Caitriona Balfe, Sam Heughan, and the rest of the cast there for the second straight year to promote the upcoming fourth season?

As is often the case with these sort of questions, there is no simple answer here. There are actually a number of different reasons for the absence, but also many ways in which Outlander is making up for it.

Scheduling and logistics – This could be potentially the biggest reason why Outlander doesn’t have a panel this year. Sam Heughan has been working on promoting The Spy Who Dumped Me and has another movie project coming in Bloodshot. Meanwhile, Caitriona Balfe has her own movie she is working on in the months to come. Many cast members are also coming off of a convention that just happened in Las Vegas this past season. If you’re going to SDCC, you want to have A) a substantial reason to be there and B) every single person available. They may have been able to make it work with a lot of effort, but as we’re about to point out, pushing it this year wasn’t necessary.

Timing – Last year, it made more sense for Outlander to be there with the season 3 premiere coming in September. Since the premiere isn’t happening until November, it’s still a little early for a trailer, let alone screening the premiere. There just wasn’t a big reason for the show to be there since they wouldn’t have too much to show off beyond a panel, which many fans have already seen at other conventions. It also costs money to bring in the cast and producers, and that money can be saved now for other endeavors.

New York Comic-Con – Ultimately, the existence of this convention (a major one in its own right) makes it so Outlander doesn’t need to go to San Diego. The New York one is happening in October, close to the show’s premiere. With that in mind, there’s a lot more that the cast and crew can talk about then. Outlander is not the first series that we’ve seen skip San Diego and head over to New York. For example, Agents of SHIELD did this just this past year.

If you really want to see Outlander cast members before this fall, many of them will be at a convention in New Jersey next month. You can read more about them by heading over here.

Related – Check out some other discussion regarding Outlander season 5

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