Game of Thrones star Rose Leslie will lead HBO's upcoming adaptation of the sci-fi romance novel The Time Traveler's Wife alongside Divergent actor Theo James. The hugely successful debut novel by author Audrey Niffenegger has been adapted for the screen before back in 2009 with Rachel McAdams and Eric Bana taking on the lead roles which Leslie and James will now step into.

Published in 2003, The Time Traveler's Wife was very well-received by critics, eventually becoming a bestseller and winning the Exclusive Books Boeke Prize and a British Book Award. The synopsis for the novel reads; "Clare and Henry have known each other since Clare was six and Henry was 36. They were married when Clare was 23 and Henry was 31. Impossible but true, because Henry is one of the first people diagnosed with Chrono-Displacement Disorder: periodically his genetic clock resets and he finds himself misplaced in time, pulled to moments of emotional gravity from his life, past and future. His disappearances are spontaneous, his experiences unpredictable, alternately harrowing and amusing.

Clare and Henry's story unfolds from both points of view, depicting the effects of time travel on their marriage and their passionate love for each other. They attempt to live normal lives, pursuing familiar goals: steady jobs, good friends, children of their own. All of this is threatened by something they can neither prevent nor control, making their story intensely moving and entirely unforgettable."

Rose Leslie and Theo James are the first cast members to be announced and will take on the lead roles of Clare and Henry respectively. Leslie is best known for starring in HBO's huge hit fantasy series Game of Thrones as the wildling Ygritte. She is also known for roles in the likes of Downton Abbey and The Good Fight on the small screen, as well as starring alongside Vin Diesel in The Last Witch Hunter on the big screen.

As for Theo James, he is most recognizable for his role as Four in the Divergent franchise, in which he featured throughout the installments Divergent, Insurgent and Allegiant. James also had starring roles in Netflix's How It Ends, the highly popular fantasy sequel series The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance and the animated series Castlevania.

This new take on the time-jumping love story of Henry and Clare comes courtesy of HBO, with former Doctor Who showrunner and writer Steven Moffat on board as an executive producer alongside Sue Vertue and Brian Minchin. Moffat, who also co-created the acclaimed BBC series Sherlock starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman, clearly has an affinity for time travel stories, and should be more than adept at transferring The Time Traveler's Wife from page to screen.

Adapting the novel is something that Moffat has wanted to do for some time, with the writer even taking inspiration from the story during his Doctor Who run. "I read Audrey Niffenegger's 'The Time Traveler's Wife' many years ago, and I fell in love with it. In fact, I wrote a 'Doctor Who' episode called 'The Girl In The Fireplace' as a direct response to it," Moffat said in a statement when HBO first announced The Time Traveler's Wife.

No release date has yet been set for HBO's The Time Traveler's Wife. This comes to us from Variety.