Mastermind Sci-Fi Producer Gives Major Updates on ‘God of War,’ ‘For All Mankind’ and ‘Outlander’ Spin-Off

From overseeing Outlander to furthering For All Mankind, Ronald D. Moore is a busy man. Best known for his contributions to the Star Trek franchise, Moore has become a notable name within the science fiction genre. On top of working on For All Mankind Season 5, he is also behind a spin-off of the Apple TV+ series, titled Star City.

For Prime Video, Moore is involved as writer, executive producer, and showrunner of God of War, an adaptation of PlayStation’s popular, ancient mythology-themed video game. In addition, Moore won’t say goodbye to the Outlander universe so soon. Even though the series based on Diana Gabaldon‘s books will end in 2026, he is credited as an executive producer of Outlander: Blood of My Blood, a prequel series premiering soon that is centered on the love stories of Claire (Caitríona Balfe) and Jamie’s (Sam Heughan) parents.

At San Diego Comic-Con 2025, Collider’s Steve Weintraub spoke with Moore about the many projects he is currently undertaking. During their conversation, the writer and executive producer shared a production update for Star City, what will happen in the next season of For All Mankind, how Outlander‘s finale might surprise fans, where he is at in the God of War adaptation to the screen, and what audiences can expect from Blood of My Blood as it departs from Gabaldon’s books. Moore also revealed details about his creative process, including how he prepares for pitch meetings and what he does to keep on top of multiple productions at once.

Ron Moore Is Still a Fan of the Comic-Con Experience

“I’m usually able to walk the floor, which I really enjoy.”

COLLIDER: One of the things I’m obsessed with is getting more people to see movies and go to movie theaters. So I’ve been asking everybody, do you have a favorite movie theater?

RON MOORE: I’m fond of a chain called IPIC, which used to be called Gold Class. You can go in, and the best part is there’s a button on the table. You press it, and a martini will appear during the film. So that, to me, is the greatest theater of all.

We are here at Comic-Con, and a lot of people at Comic-Con collect things. Are you able to walk the convention floor? Or do you get, like, sort of bothered by a lot of fans?

MOORE: I’m usually able to walk the floor, which I really enjoy. What will happen is someone will recognize me and ask to take a photo, and I’m always like, “Yeah, sure.” But then if somebody sees someone else taking a photo, then there’s a certain swarming thing that kind of happens. Then sometimes I have to leave, but most of the time they’re very nice, and I can just kind of move on and cruise around the floor.

When you are on the floor, what are the things that you’re looking for that you would like to bring home? What do you collect? Or what are you interested in?

MOORE: It’s hard now, because in the early days, I used to find things that I really wanted to collect, like old one-sheets, press kits, vintage toys, rare DVDs, or VHS tapes. Then, as time has gone by, I find it really hard to find those kinds of collector booths. It’s like, enough with the Funko toys. I don’t need to see more Funko. Nothing against Funko, but there’s a lot of that, and there’s not as much vintage stuff that I’m personally looking for, like old Star Trek action figures or play sets, or old Battlestar action sets and things.

I have to tell you something. So Factory Entertainment this year just premiered, and I freaked, and I think you will too. They have just premiered them on the floor. Retro helmets of the ’70s Cylon and the Viper helmet.

MOORE: Oh wow!

Oh my god, they look perfect.

MOORE: Oh, that’s cool.

Image via Alex Cobian

They just premiered them. And the Cylon one has the moving thing.

MOORE: Oh, no kidding.

I think it does by your command. It has a voice, and I freaked, because they were just setting up, so I wasn’t sure about the voices. But it’s in the middle of the convention floor, and you really need to go see it. They have figures, and they also have these huge starships that light up, that cost 15 grand, and they are insane.

MOORE: I want to see those. I haven’t really committed to buying one of those yet, but I’m always intrigued. I’m always close to buying one. I’m never sure where I’m going to put it.

I personally don’t have a place for it or the money to buy it, but they tell me that they sell steadily. They have these models that ILM built. They’re even better, because they light up. You should go to the middle of the convention floor. The other thing I was going to say is this year’s convention, which I love, is that so many studios aren’t there, and it has opened up the convention floor to a lot more indie dealers. I’m like, oh my god, this is great. I’m just saying you should go on the floor.

MOORE: I’m looking forward to it. It’s always fun. It’s one of the things I look forward to when I come here, is just, I get a break in my schedule. Okay, now I just want to go cruise the floor.

Ron Moore Is Currently Working on the Script for ‘God of War’

“We’re writing that at the moment.”

Image via Playstation

One of the things that people don’t realize is that you’re working on, like, 17 things all at once. I am actually, legitimately curious what your typical week is like, and I’m going to be specific. Last week, what was your week like, and next week, what is your week like? How does it work?

MOORE: At the moment, I spend time in the writers’ room.

Of what?

MOORE: Of God of War. We’re writing that at the moment. And then a lot of time reading other material, taking pitches from writers, or looking at IP that somebody’s submitting. Having conversations with Merrill Davis, my producing partner, or taking a call from someone on one of the other shows. It really varies a lot from week to week. Sometimes it’s just me writing at home and trying to really minimize meetings in any way, just so I can get a draft out. And other weeks, like next week, there will be all kinds of stuff that I should have been doing this week while I’m here. So, it’s all stacking up. I’ve got a lot of phone calls, a lot of Zooms, a lot of emails that are just creeping up on my priority list that I must respond to, giving notes on other scripts or other story ideas, practicing pitches next week for some other material that we’ll be taking out in a few weeks.

I have a question. How does it work for you? You are very successful in Hollywood. How does it work for you when you’re working on your pitch? Do you still practice?

MOORE: I always write the pitch down, and I’ll go over it by myself, and then I try to do it by myself without looking at the page, because to me, there’s nothing worse on a pitch than when you’re reading the pitch. They can always tell, like whether you’re on a Zoom or whether you’re in person, if you’re reading it, as opposed to just pitching it and telling them the story. It always plays a little differently. I try to, if it’s an in-person pitch, I’ll have the written material with me, but I try not to look at it so that I can just kind of engage and feel the interaction. Because sometimes the jokes land, sometimes they don’t, and you kind of read the room as you go through it. If I’m on Zoom, I do have it on my desktop if I need to look at it. But again, I’m trying very hard not to. I find Zoom pitches difficult because you don’t really know what people are looking at. Are they actually looking at you? Are they actually looking at their emails? You’re never quite sure, and you can’t get any sense of the flow of it. You can’t. It’s not a human interaction.

Do you find that with certain materials, they’re like, “We’re doing this in person,” or is it just about scheduling?

MOORE: It’s just about scheduling. It used to be within the last year that that would come up, “Well, for this kind of thing, we want to do it in person.” Now I’m finding that everyone’s just doing it via Zoom. I keep pushing. “Can’t we do this one in person?” “Well, we checked. Now it’s their schedule,” blah, blah. So, it’s all kind of shifting over to that which I don’t think is good. I don’t think it helps.

I agree 100%. Even when I do interviews in person, it is infinitely better.

‘For All Mankind’ Season 5 Will See Mars Growing Its Independence

“Mars starts to have more and more a sense of its own nationality, you could say.”

Let’s touch on a few things about For All Mankind Season 5. It’s probably one of my most anticipated series. It’s been a year and a half since Season 4 ended. When are you guys announcing the release of Season 5?

MOORE: Not today. I don’t know when we’re announcing it.

Season 4 has a great ending. It teases what could come, what will probably happen on Mars, especially with what happened with the asteroid. So, what can you tease about Season 5?

MOORE: Well, as always, it’s a jump ahead, and then we will be expanding on the story of a lot of the characters that you saw in Season 4. The story of Mars and its growing independence, the conflicts with Earth that continue to grow as Mars starts to have more and more of a sense of its own nationality, you could say. Not really a nation, but in that sort of odd place in between a bunch of colonists, and then forming its own nation. What do they really want to be for themselves? So, it’s an interesting question as you move forward.

‘Star City’ Is Well Into Production

“We’ve been filming Star City.”

Star City, I know you guys are developing it. Where are you in the development process? When do you start filming?

MOORE: Oh, we’ve been filming Star City.

I wasn’t sure.

MOORE: Star City is well into production. So that’s underway.

Have you announced the whole cast?

MOORE: I don’t know if we’ve announced the cast.

When is that going to happen?

MOORE: I don’t have any dates for when we make announcements. I don’t know that.

Sure Is it the plan, though, ideally, that every year there’s a For All Mankind show, or every eight months? Is there any sort of thought to that?

MOORE: It really depends. It’s really not up to us. It’s really Apple, and that’s how Apple likes to schedule. It’s a complicated web that I don’t even quite understand. They have reasons for when they premiere certain shows at certain dates and times, and I think it has a lot to do with other shows that are on the platform as well. So I don’t really know exactly what the strategy is. I just know it’s not simple, because I’ve asked that question, too, and they try to explain to me, and then it’s like, “Okay, stop.” It’s too complicated.

Star City, I’m assuming it’s 10 episodes, like For All Mankind.

MOORE: Yes.

One of the things about For All Mankind, which is great, is that at the end of every season it jumps ahead 10 years for every season. I’m assuming roughly.

MOORE: You’re right, roughly.

But is the plan still like that for Star City? Is it that similar kind of thing we’ll see?

MOORE: I mean, it’s a different show with a different vibe and a different rhythm. And I don’t want to quite give away where that one ends and what it sets up for the next season. There is a plan, but it’s not the exact same plan. I’ll put it that way.

Ron Moore Believes the ‘Outlander’ Series Finale Will Surprise Fans

“I think it’s going to surprise people, and I think the cast really brought their A-game”

Moving on to the end of Outlander and the spinoff, Outlander: Blood of My Blood. Have you seen the series finale of Outlander, or it hasn’t aired yet?

MOORE: Oh no.

Have you watched a rough cut? What was your reaction?

MOORE: It’s great. It’s really wonderful. I think it’s going to surprise people, and I think the cast really brought their A-game. I was there on the last day of shooting, and it was very emotional and nostalgic for everyone involved. It was like, wow, what a journey we’ve all made. I’m very proud. Matt Roberts gets all the credit for the last season and for the finale. I think he had it. He did a great job. He just really said this is what it is to end this show. I think people are going to like it.

How much did you guys debate what was going to be that final shot?

MOORE: I didn’t debate it. I know Matt went back and forth a lot in his own work, in the editing room, and tried out different things. Always like, “Okay, I think it’s going to be this, but let’s keep playing around with it.”

‘Outlander: Blood of My Blood’ Will Be Mostly an Original Story

“There are various stories that have been told all the way through it, but for the most part, the actual narrative that the series is making is original.”

Outlander: Blood of My Blood, talk a little bit about that material. Pardon me for not knowing how much that is from the books, and how much it is that you guys have creative freedom to do what you want.

MOORE: It is mostly drawn from backstories that are embedded in all the books. Like, if you think about Claire and Jamie, there’s a lot of material in all the books that refers to the backstory, the end of the story of their parents, because Blood of My Blood is about Jamie’s parents, and it’s about Claire’s parents. There are various stories that have been told all the way through it, but for the most part, the actual narrative that the series is making is original, if that makes sense.

I’m just about out of time. I’ve got to ask you one last thing. It’s about God of War. I heard that video game is kind of popular. I think a few people play it. It’s been around at least for a few years. Where are you guys at in terms of the development? I know you’re writing, and you’re in the writers’ room. Where are you at in terms of the development process, because I know that’s a priority show.

MOORE: We’re in the script phase. We’re still working on scripts. It’s gone very well. I’ve got a good team. It’s been a fascinating thing to sink my teeth into. I’ve never done an adaptation of a video game, and the deeper I got into it, the more impressed I was with the breadth and the depth of the mythology that’s involved in this video game. Cory Barlog is a genius. It’s not a word I throw around very much, but I’ve had several meetings with Cory. And you ask Cory, “Well, tell me about the backstory of this or how it works.” He can just talk because he holds it all in his head. I usually pride myself as a showrunner. I can hold the season in my head. I know what the 10 episodes are, and I can tell you about it. Cory can tell you the whole thing in every possible way, all the mythology, how it connects one to the other, what the puzzles were. Why would they do this? What did that artifact do? It’s really impressive. I mean, it is like a gigantic novel, even bigger than the Outlander novels, which is a lot to digest.

This world and this universe is really rich, and it’s interesting. It’s really been fun. It’s an adaptation. So it’s an adaptation/ interpretation, as you go into live action. And it’s been really fun to sort of go, “Wow, there’s a lot here we can play with.” We want to keep the story. We want to keep the characters and the spirit of it, and there’s all this stuff that you can keep turning to for inspiration. It’s been really interesting.

Image via Alex Cobian

I’m sure that the studio is like, “Let’s hope for three or five years, whatever it might be.” How much in the writers’ room now are you guys trying to think about, “If we were able to make five years, this is the plan?” I think you’re doing two seasons. You don’t want to just do one season and be like, “Well, let’s see what’s going to happen.” How far ahead are you guys thinking?

MOORE: I personally never try to get too far ahead of myself. Whether it’s Galactica or Outlander or this, I try to just say, “Our job for now is to get from here to here. Let’s just get from here to here, and let’s not worry too much about what the next season or the next three seasons are going to be.” So, we don’t really talk about that, honestly, at all at this point.

Last question for you, in an ideal world, when do you think you could be filming?

MOORE: Don’t know. Definitely not this year.

Okay, so I’ll assume, hopefully, next year.

MOORE: We shall see.

Outlander: Blood of My Blood releases new episodes every Friday on Starz.