Outlander Season 3 air date, spoilers: Sam Heughan on Jamie's transformation and other surprises

Season 3 of Starz's time-travel series Outlander will pick up with Sam Heughan's Jamie getting ready for the Battle of Culloden and it is going to be an episode filled with blood and a lot of violence, if reports from filming location are true.

Readers of Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series of books already know the outcome of the battle and who survives, but according to Heughan, there are surprises in store for them as well.

"We always try to stick as close as we can to the books, but obviously it's hard to make a book episodic," Heughan told PopSugar. "The beginning of Season three us a slight deviation from the book. We are going to be showing a bit of Culloden, and what happened to Jamie. You're going to see it, and I think it's important since we talked about this battle, and that the Highlanders are doomed, and that they might be wiped out. It's a reward for the fans."

Talking about Jamie's transformation, Heughan said his character goes into the Battle of Culloden prepared to die. He had no hopes of coming out of it alive, but does and the effects of war and imprisonment change him. Viewers will see at least three versions of Jamie in Season 3, but there will also be glimpses of the person Claire fell in love with.

Meanwhile, Jamie and Claire's reunion is one of the highly anticipated scenes of Season 3 of Outlander, and Heughan revealed that their reunion is going to be very special, considering they spent a good part of their youth believing the other one was dead.

"Time has passed, they've become different people, but they do have this great love for each other and this great bond. Ultimately, that's their saving grace, and what brings them back together," revealed Heughan.

Outlander Season 3 is expected to return to Starz in April 2017. Season 3 of Outlander is based on Voyager.