Starz has announced a director and actors for the main roles for its upcoming Outlander television series based on the popular Diana Gabaldon book series (see "'Outlander' Series on Starz").
 
Scottish natives Graham McTavish (Dwalin in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, as well as the voice of Loki in The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes) and Gary Lewis (Gangs of New York, Eragon) have joined the cast as clansmen Dougal and Colum MacKenzie respectively.  They join fellow Scot Sam Heughan, who plays the male lead, Jamie Fraser.  The young Fraser is nephew to Dougal and Colum, and has yet to swear allegiance to the MacKenzie clan as the series begins.
 
Executive producer Ronald D. Moore (Battlestar Galactica) wrote the first two episodes, which will be directed by John Dahl (who has directed episodes of Dexter, Breaking Bad, True Blood, Vampire Diaries and Arrow).
 
In a strange mash-up of science fiction and historical romance, the story revolves around Claire Randall, a married combat nurse from 1945 who is mysteriously swept back in time to 1743, where she is thrown in to a world of clan politics she doesn’t understand.  She is later forced to marry Jamie, and she is torn between loyalty to two men in two different time periods.
 
The series will be filmed in Scotland, where the story is set, and will premiere on Starz in 2014.  The seven-book series has sold more than 25 million copies worldwide and the eighth installment, Written in My Own Heart’s Blood, is set to be released in March of 2014.