The man behind the Battlestar Galactica reboot, Ronald D. Moore, has reportedly begun working on his next project, now that Sony Pictures Television has nabbed the rights to author Diana Gabaldon's bestselling book series, Outlander.

Reportedly, Moore has started work on adapting Gabaldon's seven book series (an eighth is set to be released in 2013) with plans to pitch the idea to cable networks as early as next week.

The incredibly high-concept Outlander series concerns a former British combat nurse, Claire Beauchamp Randall, who returns to the Scottish Highlands to be reunited with her husband following the end of WWII. Soon thereafter, Claire finds herself transported back in time to 1743, where she meets the sadistic Black Jack Randall – from whom her present-day husband is descended. Claire soon finds herself seeking escape in the company of a gang of Highland Scots who force her to marry one of their own, or else she'll be handed over to Captain Randall.

So, as is usually the case in time-hopping, period romances set in the Scottish Highlands, Claire's adventures consist of attempts to escape her Scottish captors, evade the cruel Captain Randall and find a way back to her time – all the while dealing with the fact she may be falling in love with the Scottish fellow she was forced to marry.

The Outlander series has proven a successful endeavor for Gabaldon, with over 20 million copies of her novels having been sold. In addition to the core Outlander novels, there exists a series of spin-offs and companion pieces, which will no doubt offer Moore a healthy supply of material should the series come to fruition. After the wild success that David Benioff and D.B. Weiss have had adapting the works of George R.R. Martin into HBO's Game of Thrones, cable television is clearly on the prowl for more unique takes on familiar genres that would make for not only lucrative adaptations, but could also be seen lasting several seasons.

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For Moore, Outlander is another question mark in a succession of projects to which he's been attached that have unfortunately gone nowhere. Recent endeavors like NBC's 17th Precinct – which would have reunited Moore with several of his key Battlestar Galactica cast – the western Hangtown and a remake of the Wild, Wild West all failed to gain enough traction to see them to series.

Outlander's prospects are undoubtedly running high, considering the potential series comes with the promise of a built-in fan base and loads of material to work from. The complexities in the series' plot seem tailor-made for Moore – who, lately, seems to gravitate toward genre mash-ups such as this – so news of this series stalling out would be surprising, to say the least. It will not be surprising, however, when names like Jamie Bamber, James Callis and Tricia Helfer start being tossed around in relation to potential casting for the show.

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Screen Rant will keep you up to date on all the news surrounding Outlander as it is made available.

Source: Deadline