Blood of my Blood | Outlander prequel (Starz)

[BluBonnet]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hvjJEXoIhs

‘Outlander’ Prequel ‘Blood of My Blood’ Unveils Main Title Sequence Teasing Epic Love Story

A sunset over the Scottish Highlands, a bonfire being lit and two hands holding.

“Outlander: Blood of My Blood” comes to Starz on Aug. 8, along with a brand new opening title sequence. Showrunner and executive producer Matthew B. Roberts promises there’s a new energy to the “Outlander” prequel.

The prequel follows the romances between Ellen MacKenzie (Harriet Slater) and Brian Fraser (Jamie Roy), and Julia Moriston (Hermione Corfield) and Henry Beauchamp (Jeremy Irvine). It’s set against the battlefields of World War I and the 18th-century Scottish Highlands, as these two couples overcome the obstacles that seek to tear them apart.

In approaching the opening credit sequence, Roberts wanted it to have a sense of newness, while also incorporating elements that had proven successful for the series. Composer Bear McCreary was brought in early to the process.

The original “Outlander” theme song was an adapted version of the Scottish folk tune, “The Skye Boat Song.” It got a makeover for season 7 with Sinead O’Connor singing her version of the tune. Roberts explains, “We didn’t want to do that again, but we wanted that song you sing to yourself when you’re in the car or the shower.”

But getting it right proved to be a challenge. The team had a concept in mind, but according to Roberts, “It wasn’t quite gelling, and it wasn’t working visually. We couldn’t figure out how to tell the main title story.”

To have lyrics or not was another dilemma. But visually, the main titles needed to take a nod from “Outlander” and tell a story. At one point, there were too many visuals of Scotland that “it felt like a travelogue,” Roberts says. “It didn’t feel like the show.”

It was the post-production team that started to pull images and tie them together, dissolving from the Highland warriors to a cattle raid to World War I. “That moment became the inspiration for the whole title, and we started looking at those pieces to create this dance that would tell both sides of the story of Henry and Julia, and Brian and Ellen. That’s what got the ball rolling.”

Vocalist Julie Fowlis can be heard singing the lyrics in English and Gaelic. But that came together after several experiments of trying it first in Gaelic, and then in English. Says Roberts, “We landed on this version of it because we think it tells the best story for the opening.”

There’s a story within the main title that comes together as the season unfolds. Roberts’ favorite moment is the sequence of the two hands. “There are such lovely moments in the show, and as the story goes, that one of them is so for me, so beautifully shot and conceived.” He adds, “I’m excited for this to hit the fandom.”