Could Outlander follow Game of Thrones with an eventual prequel?

Earlier today, the news was finally 100% official that a Game of Thrones prequel pilot is being made for HBO — there is no guarantee at the moment that the show is going to be eventually ordered to series, but given the franchise’s history, doesn’t that seem like a lock?

The question that we now have to ask to go along with all of this is ultimately rather simple: Is it possible that we’re going to see Outlander someday in a similar position? We know that it’s something enticing to think about — following the completion of the series on Starz, of course.

From a network standpoint, it’s not altogether difficult to understand why this would be something that Starz would consider. After all, Outlander remains an enormous ratings success during its time on Starz, amassing large viewership and also subscriber figures for the network. These are absolutely the sort of things that just about any network would crave long-term. Whether it be with a show like The Big Bang Theory or The Walking Dead, we’ve absolutely seen time and time again now networks find a way to extend the life of their franchises.

As for possible source material, there’s a whole wealth of possibilities from everything Diana Gabaldon has written over the years — we could easily see Starz finding a way to base some sort of series on some characters who she’s included somewhere in either the novels or the side stories.

Now that we’ve said all of this … it’s really much to soon to consider it a serious possibility. It’s not something that Starz is thinking about and if they end up doing a season of Outlander for every book that Gabaldon writes in the series, we’re not even a third of the way through right now in terms of seeing them air! It’s far too difficult to project what the performance of Outlander will be a few years from now, let alone five or six down the road. With the right story, cast, and creative team, a prequel or some other sort of spin-off project could be immensely entertaining; yet, there is also something to be said for allowing a show to stand on its own merits. That is what makes the Game of Thrones prequel risky in that it’s not something that anyone was necessarily begging to have. The same may be said for Outlander at the time in which Starz starts to think more about these sort of possibilities.

Related – See some of the latest discussion of the fourth season, including the filming process

What do you think: Is this something that Starz should be considering at the moment? Share in the comments!

Meanwhile, you can also like CarterMatt on Facebook in the event you want some other news on Outlander the moment that we have them. (Photo: Starz.)