After languishing in development for the past four years, Universal Pictures and Working Title are moving forward with their adaptation of Jo Nesbø's The Snowman. The Hollywood Reporter reveals that Michael Fassbender is in talks to star, most likely in the lead role of Detective Harry Hole, although his character is not specified. The book was released in 2007, and is the seventh installment of the author's Harry Hole novel series.

The story centers on Oslo, Norway detective Harry Hole, who starts investigating a missing person's case involving a young boy's mother. The only thing she left behind is a red scarf, which has been wrapped around a snowman that mysteriously appeared in their front yard. As Harry continues to dig deeper and deeper into the case, he starts noticing connections between married women who have gone missing, and the first snowfall of the year.

After Harry gets an anonymous letter signed The Snowman, a young woman named Sylvia Pedersen is fighting her way through the first snow in a forest outside Oslo. She knows she is running for her life, but she doesn't know what from. Harry starts to piece together these clues, realizing he's on the trailer of Norway's first ever serial killer. Jo Nesbø has written nine Harry Hole novels in total, with the last book entitled Police, released in 2013.

Tomas Alfredson (Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, Let the Right One in) is directing from an adapted screenplay he co-wrote with Søren Sveistrup. Matthew Michael Carnahan initially came on board to write the adaptation, when Martin Scorsese was originally set to direct back in 2011. Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner are producing for Working Title Films, but it isn't known when production may begin. The film doesn't have a release date set at this time, so check back for more updates.

Michael Fassbender will next be seen playing the title character in Universal's biopic Steve Jobs, which hits theaters October 9. He also stars in the upcoming Macbeth, which has been given a December 4 release date. In 2016, the actor will return as Magneto in X-Men: Apocalypse, and he also stars in the highly-anticipated video game adaptation Assassin's Creed. Are you looking forward to seeing what the actor can do as Harry Hole?