"X-Men: Days of Future Past" star Michael Fassbender is in talks to cinch the lead role in Universal and Working Title's film adaptation of crime writer Jo Nesbo's novel "The Snowman," according to The Hollywood Reporter.

In the novel, detective Harry Hole investigates the disappearance of a woman with a young son. The boy wakes up one morning to discover that his mother is gone, and all that is left is the pink scarf he gave her for Christmas, wrapped around the neck of a snowman that has mysteriously appeared in the front lawn. As Hole sinks deeper and deeper into the case, he realizes he may have stumbled across Norway's first serial killer.

Nesbo's book series is seven volumes deep, with "The Snowman" as the latest addition to Harry Hole's legacy. Throughout the series, Hole uses his unusual crime-solving skill set to close cases all over Oslo.

Director Tomas Alfredson, who gained international acclaim with "Let the Right One In" before going on to helm "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy," will co-write the script with Soren Sveistrup, head writer of the original Danish version of the "The Killing." Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner are attached as producers.