George Clooney is in talks for the lead role in director Alexander Payne's family dramedy The Descendants for Fox Searchlight.

According to Variety, the story centers on a wealthy landowner who takes his two daughters on a search for his wife's lover in the hopes of keeping his family together.

The screenplay, which is based on Kaui Hart Hemmings' debut novel of the same name, was penned by Nat Faxon and Jim Rash.

The project is scheduled to begin production in February in Hawaii.