The last time that Diana Gabaldon’s bestselling fantasy romance book series **Outlander **flared on our development radar, it was back in 2008, when Randall Wallace was hired to bring it to the big screen for Essential Pictures. Or at least, that was the plan. That version seemingly vanished into the mire, but now Spartacus-producing cable network Starz has picked up the rights, with Battlestar Galactica’s Ronald D. Moore overseeing the writing.
This should not be confused with either the Jim Caviezel-starring sci-fi film or the Sean Connery-starring sci-fi film. Outlander, the first novel, launched a seven-book series, which will add another tome next year. It focuses on Claire, a married World War II combat nurse sent back in time to the Scottish wilds circa 1743.
Dropped into a world of adventure and mystery, she’s forced to marry Jamie, a romantic Scottish warrior, and finds herself torn between the two men in her very different lives.
Time travel and its paradoxes should come fairly easily to Moore given his experience working on the modern Star Trek shows, though he’ll also likely be grateful he doesn’t have to delve into technobabble to make it all work.
Starz has been looking to build on the success of its drama output following Spartacus, with projects including Michael Bay’s Black Sails and Da Vinci’s Demons from David Goyer.