diff --git a/playbooks/multinode-overcloud-prep.yml b/playbooks/multinode-overcloud-prep.yml
index 2146cbb99..ee0eceebe 100644
--- a/playbooks/multinode-overcloud-prep.yml
+++ b/playbooks/multinode-overcloud-prep.yml
@@ -33,6 +33,7 @@
     - overcloud-prep-containers
   roles:
     - role: overcloud-prep-containers
+      use_overcloud_mixed_upgrade: "{{mixed_upgrade|default(false)}}"
       when: containerized_overcloud|bool
 
 - name: Run tripleo-validations pre-deployment tests
diff --git a/playbooks/multinode-overcloud-upgrade-new.yml b/playbooks/multinode-overcloud-upgrade-new.yml
index 1e56302c5..196249c11 100644
--- a/playbooks/multinode-overcloud-upgrade-new.yml
+++ b/playbooks/multinode-overcloud-upgrade-new.yml
@@ -23,6 +23,12 @@
     - role: overcloud-prep-containers
       # This need the new repo in place.
       update_containers: true
+      # This enable us to run it even on non-containerized overcloud deployment
+      # ie, ffu upgrade where deployment is on newton.
+      containerized_overcloud: "{{prep_container_upgrade_run|default(false)}}"
+      # Do not overwrite the deployment log if any.
+      overcloud_prep_containers_log: "upgrade_overcloud_prep_containers.log"
+      overcloud_prep_containers_script: "upgrade_overcloud_prep_containers.sh"
       when: containerized_overcloud_upgrade|bool
 
 #FIXME(chem): tech-debt LP#1749740
diff --git a/roles/overcloud-prep-containers/README.md b/roles/overcloud-prep-containers/README.md
index 69318b25b..316ed627d 100644
--- a/roles/overcloud-prep-containers/README.md
+++ b/roles/overcloud-prep-containers/README.md
@@ -33,7 +33,10 @@ overcloud-prep-containers variables
 * delete_docker_cache: <false> -- whether to stop Docker, wipe all the Docker data, and restart
 * update_containers: <false> -- whether to run container-check to update containers
 * container_process_count: <8> -- number of concurrent processes to run when updating containers
-
+* use_overcloud_mixed_upgrade: <false> - when true, we use overcloud release tag and build_id for
+                                         container images in mixed upgrade context.
+* prep_container_upgrade_run: <false> - in mixed version upgrade offer a flag to have container
+                                        deployed during upgrade.
 
 overcloud-prep-config variables
 -------------------------------
diff --git a/roles/overcloud-prep-containers/defaults/main.yml b/roles/overcloud-prep-containers/defaults/main.yml
index 7d253e6e4..a0fe717ac 100644
--- a/roles/overcloud-prep-containers/defaults/main.yml
+++ b/roles/overcloud-prep-containers/defaults/main.yml
@@ -7,3 +7,5 @@ overcloud_prep_containers_log: "overcloud_prep_containers.log"
 prepare_service_env_args: -e {{ overcloud_templates_path }}/environments/docker.yaml
 update_containers: false
 container_process_count: 8
+use_overcloud_mixed_upgrade: false
+prep_container_upgrade_run: false
diff --git a/roles/overcloud-prep-containers/templates/overcloud-prep-containers.sh.j2 b/roles/overcloud-prep-containers/templates/overcloud-prep-containers.sh.j2
index d2b510047..6566e1e2c 100644
--- a/roles/overcloud-prep-containers/templates/overcloud-prep-containers.sh.j2
+++ b/roles/overcloud-prep-containers/templates/overcloud-prep-containers.sh.j2
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ set -eux
 ## ------------------------
 
 ## * Add an additional insecure registry if needed
+## ::
 {% if additional_insecure_registry|bool %}
 if egrep -q "^INSECURE_REGISTRY=.*{{docker_registry_host}}.*" /etc/sysconfig/docker; then
     echo "/etc/sysconfig/docker contains the correct settings"
@@ -25,9 +26,21 @@ fi
 
 ## * get build id
 ## ::
+{% set docker_registry_namespace_used = docker_registry_namespace %}
 {% if get_build_command is defined %}
 BUILD_ID={{ get_build_command }}
+
+##   a) Checking if we are deploying a N-1 (relative to release) docker images
+##      So that we use the the N-1 BUILD_ID and the N-1 docker_registry_namespace
+##      for deployment.  This is used in mixed upgrade deployment.
+## ::
+{% elif use_overcloud_mixed_upgrade|default(false)|bool %}
+BUILD_ID={{ overcloud_docker_image_tag }}
+{% set docker_registry_namespace_used = overcloud_docker_registry_namespace %}
 {% else %}
+
+##   b) We are using the release version of the docker images.
+## ::
 BUILD_ID={{ docker_image_tag }}
 {% endif %}
 
@@ -39,7 +52,7 @@ PREPARE_ARGS=${PREPARE_ARGS:-"{{ prepare_service_env_args }}"}
 openstack overcloud container image prepare \
     --images-file {{ working_dir }}/overcloud_containers.yaml \
     ${PREPARE_ARGS} \
-    --namespace {{ docker_registry_host }}/{{ docker_registry_namespace }} \
+    --namespace {{ docker_registry_host }}/{{ docker_registry_namespace_used }} \
     --tag $BUILD_ID \
 {% if docker_prep_prefix is defined %}
     --prefix {{ docker_prep_prefix}} \
@@ -67,7 +80,7 @@ openstack overcloud container image prepare \
     --images-file {{ working_dir }}/overcloud_containers.yaml \
     --env-file {{ working_dir }}/containers-default-parameters.yaml \
     ${PREPARE_ARGS} \
-    --namespace {{ local_docker_registry_host }}:8787/{{ docker_registry_namespace }} \
+    --namespace {{ local_docker_registry_host }}:8787/{{ docker_registry_namespace_used }} \
     --set ceph_namespace={{ local_docker_registry_host }}:8787/ceph \
 {% if docker_prep_prefix is defined %}
     --prefix={{ docker_prep_prefix}} \
@@ -83,7 +96,7 @@ openstack overcloud container image prepare \
 {% endif %}
     --tag $BUILD_ID
 
-{% if update_containers|bool %}
+{% if update_containers|bool and not use_overcloud_mixed_upgrade|default(false)|bool %}
 # See https://github.com/imain/container-check for script and documentation
 
 ## * rename the base-os yum repos to disable them. This will speed up the update