The Snowmanmay have just landed one of the hottest actors in Hollywood inMichael Fassbender. New reports have theX-Men: Apocalypsestar in talks to join theTomas Aflredson-directed adaptation ofJo Nesbø’sNorwegian crime novel. The thriller is the seventh in Nesbø’s book series that centers on Detective Harry Hole (not a typo), described as brilliant, driven, and unorthodox, serving as a classic “loose cannon” cop character.The Snowmanfinds Hole investigating the disappearance of a young boy’s mother. The only trace left behind is her pink Christmas scarf found tied around a snowman that appears in the front yard. The more he digs into the case, the more Hole becomes convinced that he’s tracking Norway’s first serial killer.
News of Fassbender being in talks forThe Snowmancomes courtesy ofTHR. While the report didn’t confirm that Fassbender is vying for the Harry Hole role, it would certainly make the most sense. (He would make for a very expensive snowman.) We’ve seen Fassbender as an android, a Basterd, a megalomaniacal mutant, a Spartan, and a member of Easy Company, to name but a few, but I don’t think we’ve gotten a chance to see him put on his best detective hat just yet. That’s a hat I’d certainly like to see.
This project has been in the works since at least 2010 whenWorking Title Films announced their plans to adapt the story. It picked up some steam in 2011 when it looked likeMartin Scorsesewas going to make it his next picture. Though hecommitted to directing itin late 2011, we learned just last year thatAlfredson would step in to directThe Snowmanwhile Scorsese would stay on as Executive Producer.
As for Fassbender, he’s pretty busy for the next couple of years, withDanny Boyle’sSteve Jobs,Bryan Singer’sX-Men: Apocalypse,andJustin Kurzel’svideo game adaptationAssassin’s Creedas but a few of the titles on his slate. While I’d love to see Fassbender star in a Norwegian crime thriller from the director ofLet the Right One InandTinker Tailor Soldier Spy, time will tell if his schedule allows it.
Here’s a look at the book synopsis for more onThe Snowman:
Oslo in November. The first snow of the season has fallen. A boy named Jonas wakes in the night to find his mother gone. Out his window, in the cold moonlight, he sees the snowman that inexplicably appeared in the yard earlier in the day. Around its neck is his mother’s pink scarf.
Hole suspects a link between a menacing letter he’s received and the disappearance of Jonas’s mother—and of perhaps a dozen other women, all of whom went missing on the day of a first snowfall. As his investigation deepens, something else emerges: he is becoming a pawn in an increasingly terrifying game whose rules are devised—and constantly revised—by the killer. [Amazon]
