Diana Gabaldon’s ‘Outlander’ Novels to Be Made Into Television Series
July 17, 2012
Following the success of popular book series-turned-television-gold such as “True Blood” and “Game of Thrones,” literary television enthusiasts can look forward to another popular series making its way to the small screen. Deadline recently broke the story that Diana Gabaldon’s popular seven-book series, Outlander, has been acquired by Sony Pictures TV. Sony has tapped Ron Moore of Battlestar Galactica production fame to pen the series adaptation.
Gabaldon’s historical fiction novels center around Claire Randall, a former combat nurse who we meet in 1945 on her second honeymoon in the British Isles. With one wrong turn toward an ancient stone circle, Claire finds herself hurled back in time to war-torn Scotland, circa 1743. It is there she meets dashing Scottish warrior Jamie Fraser and ignites a fervent love affair. Claire’s relationship between the two men in her life, tossed between two hundred years, serves as the series’ core.
Since the publication of the first book in 1991, the Outlander series has spawned a captivated fan base, obsessed with Claire and Jamie’s time-traveling love affair. In addition to a plethora of fan blogs plotting who they would cast in the film version of the story, Outlander has also inspired a musical, and even a series of “Claire and Jamie” fan tours of Scotland.
If you are an Outlander fan, who do you envision playing the title characters of Claire and Jamie?
Tags: A Game of Thrones, Diana Gabaldon, Game of Thrones, Outlander, True Blood
The Outlander Series
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Really? Finally?? YAAYYYY!!!!!
make the movie like the books are they are a mirracle in live
I hope they get nice 35-year-olds to play Jaimie and Claire; they can moved in both directions for Outlander to Echo as our characters age. If they get 22-year olds as mentioned in one blog they will be too young to represent J&C later in the series. That said, I’ll definitely be watching and will definitely buy the resultant DVD’s that will come after. This is my favorite book series hands down. Nothing else comes close.
Nicolaj Coster Waldau – 30-something
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0182666/
when will film or tv series be in england read these books in 199os now reading again see film advertised but cant find out when we can see it
Yaayyyyyyy for so long we have waited whheeee !!!!
I so hope they will not do it. No one can play the role of Jamie Fraser and the books are too great to be messed up by a movie.
Producers has finally done something to make me watch television. I guess I’ll have to follow this post to find out when it premiers. I wouldn’t want to trek into the ‘vast wasteland’ too soon!
Let’s hope they make sensible choices folks !! I can hardly wait!!!
I think Chris Hemsworth would make a great Jamie. He had a decent Scottish accent in Snow White and the Huntsman and he can easily pull off the rugged yet sensitive portrayal of Jamie. Not sure about someone for Claire…
I don’t really want “Known” actors for an Outlander Series. I am hoping for actors from Scotland and England that will be able to grow with the roles as we have watched Jamie and Claire grow. I really think if this series is done right it will have a HUGE and Loyal following. This is the Best Book Series I have ever read!
FINALLY!!!!! Someone that echoes my sentiments that the characters MUST be unknowns!!! When I read the books, I loved getting to know the characters….If a known actor were to totally go bonkers and sign on, my preconceived notions of that actor get merged with the character…Give me unknowns any day!!!
I just hope that they stay true to the Britishness of the story (at least for the first few books) and don’t turn it into some all-American replica. If they do it as well as they’ve done Game of Thrones, with a British cast and fantastic locations, then I’ll be happy. And I’d rather see relative unknowns in the lead roles. I can’t think of anyone in the spotlight who’d be good enough.
I have read the Outlander series SEVERAL times..I would LOVE to watch it on tv also…
I would like the main caracter in Thor to play jamie
/linnéa from Sweden
These are some of my favorite books and I really hope they find unknown actors that are relatively young for Outlander and Jamie really needs to be a natural redhead otherwise a dye job always looks fake. I hope they keep it very Scottish/British too, no fake accents please! I will watch religiously each week if this is a series on cable. I hope they don’t make it on the main channels and would have to whitewash both the violence and the sex. It would ruin the story.
I am excited!! I LOVE the books, and JAMIE!!!
When will it air, and what channel will carry it? Will it be on HBO?
Becky Carden
Is this legit this time? So excited!
I love these books—have read the entire series multiple times (still waiting on that promised closure, Ms. Gabaldon!). I will not watch them on screen. The author has created very vivid, clear, layered, wonderful characters that live in my imagination. I won’t let base curiosity about how they may be in someone else’s brain defile what is one of my very favorite sets of fictional people.
I love the series! Can’t wait!!!
I would love to see them cast Dustin Clare ..he played gannicus on the spartacus series on starz…he would be absolutely great!
I would love to see Sean Bean (Ned Stark from Game of Thrones) play Jamie PERFECT!! Not sure about Clair yet but someone like Madeline Stowe would definitely be good. I think unknown actors could be just fun too.
I hope they make a blockbuster out out of them!!! It could rival twilight
I love Chris Hemsworth…A dark-ginger version of him is close to who I picture when I read the books for the first time. However, if Scotland could come up with a great unknown actor who can really give us that genuine ruggedness, I’d be for that as well. I think Emma Watson has the talent, look, and natural accent to make an excellent Claire. I know she’s already famous, but I’m always very impressed with her work and we know she can pull off that crazy curly light brown hair (she’s done a messier version of it already as Hermione). My only reservation for her is that she might be too thin… I think of Claire as a bit curvier.
I, too, think that these books are the most fascinating I’ve ever read, and I’m very old and have read thousands of books. One thing bothers me: I would like Claire to have a more mature and strong voice than the one I heard in the musical version. Claire is a very strong, brilliant, tough woman, and a young, sweet voice just doesn’t sound like her. I know I’ll be disappointed in the movie and TV series, but I’m thrilled to have the general public get to know Claire and Jamie anyway. Yay, Diana Gabaldon!!
I can’t wait for these to come out. My pick for Jamie is Alexander Skarsguard. Yes, I know he is in True Blood, but it departed from the books a long time ago; so I think he should jump ship and come over to the Outlander series. I also read the other day that Katherine Heigl was looking to play Claire, which I don’t know if she could pull it off…we will see…
i cant think of a grood actor or actress for the parts i love this series in fact im reading it now! please stay true to the way they look though. jamie with long red-orange hair, bronzed conplection, blue eyes and tall. claire small golden-brown hair with amber eyes and fair skined. like i said i love this series because it connects me to my scotish heiritige and i would love to watch this.
Gerard Butler for Jaime
I would love to see Gerald Butler play Jamie as he is Scottish and no one would have to have a fake Scottish accent and for Claire i would say either Emily Blunt or Rachel Weisz.Both of which would play Claire well and true to the story and series. Ive only just got into the series and am hooked already.
Jared Padalecki as Jamie, Rachel Wiesz as Claire. <3
Loved the series and have mixed thoughts about whether a series would work… In saying that I think Game of Thrones stands as a contradiction to that statement.
I don’t have actors/actresses chosen for parts, but would definately like to see a mature actress for Claire… don’t forget that she was already married, been through a war and had been trying for kids prior to going back in time (ie: Rachael Weiss-like). Unknown actors would increase my interest as they can grow with the characters. Jamie needs to be a younger (than Claire) strapping redhaired Scotsman…
I think Jason Issacs http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005042/ would be the most perfect Black Jack Randall or Benedict Cumberbatch . I think Emily Blunt or Kate Winslet would be a great Claire. I would hope they would cast Brendan Gleeson (Jamie’s dad maybe?) and Eddie Redmayne (as the boy Jamie not the older Jamie). I think the casting of Jamie’s role is more important than any other role – if they get it wrong it will ruine the series. Regardless, they need to find a strapping handsome redhead for his role.
I’d love to see Keri Russell as Claire and Chris Hemsworth as Jamie. Too bad it’s going to be a TV show because no big star will do it. It’s probably better that way. Have a bunch of new stars play the roles.
I don’t know about Claire, keri Russell isn’t strong enough. She needs to be a stronger looking female. But you hit it square on the nail for Jamie. Expecially after hearing his scottish lilt in Snow White and the Huntsman, Chris Helmsworth would be perfect. He’s definitely a warrior but “pretty” with that smile of his. PERFECT
I love the books and have read them twice. Would love to see a film or tv series. When is it likely to be done?
Totally no other choice but Kevin McKidd for Jamie and Emmy Rossen for Claire!!!!!
OMG!! Please, for the love of God, start making these movies! Do NOT change the plots, characters, or timelines as you will LOOSE the built in fan base you get with this story…and we are many… and we are beyond loyal, loyal may be the wrong word, perhaps a wee bit obsessed but regardless…we have dreamed James Alexander Malcolm MacKenzie Fraser since the first book and have begged, pleaded and offered inappropriate favors for this story to hit the screens….Ms.Gabaldon has created extraordinarily
detailed character profiles for you to work with, you can not loose…lest you stray too far from the storyline. We LOVE these books MORE then the crazy Twighlight-Harry Potter-ites..there is no fan base like us and there really isnt anything done so far to compare to the possiblities you have with these books: action/adventure/scifi/period/romance/plot twists/suprising betrayals/heart warming family values/patriotism(we could use some right now)/it’s endless..even pirates! and witches!(yea i know it sounds funny but it all works together) violence/sex (be careful here..don’t go all Spartucus with it..keep it reasonable, well within storyline anyways). Cast unknown (to Americans) european actors like Mel did for Braveheart. How bout a real Scot plays Jaimie? and all the other Scots…French, English etc. Go for authenticity instead of stereotypical-Hollywood-blatant- rating-whoring, Please. Pretty-Pretty Please, I promise, this will pay off. Everyone I suggested these books to love them and are waiting to share with “those-who-do not-read” the story we love so-so much.
We have very preconceived ideas of whom Jamie and Claire should look/act like…and so far they dont exsist IMO. If a smart person at Sony thinks about this a little bit they will realize that these books are acting career books…the actors will have 30-40-50 years to work with, to age with, the Harry Potter kids got nothin on this. And check this out,like LOST had the mobisodes in the off season, you could even have off season specials with the Lord John books, and so much more filler that Ms Gabaldon has done, .just set it all up for ya she did…just please, dont F it up.
met Diana in Toronto at booking signing, have read books several times – can’t wait for the wrap up novel. Thought Echo in The Bone would be the last. I agree – unknowns would be good. Gerard Butler definitely, but as Diana said when I asked her he is getting too old to play the 22 yr old virgin. Would it work to change – don’t think so – the actor playing Jamie as he ages? They can do so much with make up. Has anyone see the ‘screen tests’ done for the key roles – ie Gerard Butler for Jamie – really cool to see the actors dressed in the period costume and makeup. Really hope this takes off. Blockbuster potential for sure.
I, also being a woman of a certain age, would love to see Gerard Butler in the role of Jamie Frasier and would love to see it filmed in Scotland. I read all the books twice and even went o Scotland to the Culloden battleground and the standing stones in that area. please please keep the film true to the book. Also please don’t make Claire a Hunger Games, Twilight Saga kind of heroine. Our Claire was strong and couragous but also intelligent and mature enough to understand that her husband,in that time period, had to spank her because she put the whole clan in danger when. she didn’t do as she was told. The history of that time period, and not just furniture and costumes, but also attitudes and beliefs are a very big part of the allure of these stories. Ms Gabaldon didn’t just make us see and hear the story, she made us feel like we were actually there. Am so happy a film is going to be made. We’ve a long time
Ganicus (Dustin Clare) from Spartacus as Jamie would be perfect.
My wife and I read all seven books in rapid sequence as we got started late and all were available on Amazon. We could not get through them fast enough. DG is a great writer. You can ‘see’ each character and event in High Definition. We both think that Claire would be played with precision by Emma Thompson. In all the books we kept thinking if this was made into a movie or a series then Emma would be Claire. As for Jaimi I think Sean Bean would get our vote. Like someone said it should be actors from Scotland and England to make this real.
Cannot wait until the series is made!
I loved reading the books and would love it if they kept the movie true to the book!
I have been watching the mini-series
“The Vikings” and love Travis Fimmel. I think he would make a great Jamie. I am also a fan of Emily Blunt and I think she would be a terrific choice for Claire.
I’m afraid of them butchering these wonderful books. Jamie…I see Liam Hemsworth with reddish hair…he isnt as bulky as Chris. He is more brooding. Kate Beckinsale as Claire. I would have loved Emma Thompsons personality but she is older now & doesnt fit the look. They need to be very good actors. Very few books make a good transition to screen. Anyone remember the “Shogun” miniseries? One of the best books ever written…they should have jailed everyone responsible for the travesty of a miniseries. They did much better with Game of Thrones & Peter Jackson’s LOTR. Just hope for a project of that quality.
I can’t believe it! I am part excited and part dreading it. I am one of those people that get bent out of shape when they change the story too much from the books. HBO’s version of True Blood is awful compared to the story lines in the books. In my opinion anyway. I will be highly offended if this is turned into time traveling porn. I know that in t.v. they can’t fit everything in from the books, but I think Gabaldon’s writing and story telling is superb as is and doesn’t need any changes.
I cannot wait to see this. Very happy also that they will be made for tv and not a movie. Each book is so densely packed that I wouldn’t be satisfied unless it were 3 movies per book. As a series it could be on for the next 7-10 years and make HUGE ratings.
The only actor I could envision portraying Jamie would be Kevin McKidd from Grey’s Anatomy. He’s the perfect match of who I’ve seen in my head for the past 15 plus years. As for Claire, I’ve never seen or thought of anyone who would match what Ive got pictured in my mind’s eye. However, I LOVE the idea of Emma Thompson. As soon as I saw her name mentioned above I thought “yes that’s it”. But she is too mature now to do so, and she probably wouldn’t be willing to be on tv since she’s a film actress. I cannot wait to see the fulfilment of these books, way too excited!!!!
Please do not use the red head from Grey’s. He’s not good looking and he’s not 6’5″. Rachel Weisz for Claire