In the beginning (sort of), there was The Da Vinci Code, a delightful summer beach novel which most people read too much into. Due to its popularity, it was turned into a box office hit in 2006 by director Ron Howard. The Da Vinci Code wasn’t the first book to feature the adventures of Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon, who was played in the film by Tom Hanks, and it also wasn’t the last. So on the heels of the latest Langdon book, Inferno, burning up the best-sellers list, Sony is looking at putting this latest romp through European art history into active development for a 2015 release.
Deadline broke the news today that both Howard and Hanks have signed a deal to come back for a third Langdon movie after 2009’s Angels & Demons. Additionally, blockbuster script doctor David Koepp (Jurassic Park, War of the Words) has been assigned the task of adapting Inferno into a screenplay, a task he’s suited to given that he co-wrote the script for Angels & Demons.
So what’s lit a fire (pun intended) under Sony to get back into the world of Robert Langdon? Development on the previous Langdon novel, The Lost Symbol, stalled after the lackluster success of Angels & Demons and Howard turned over directing duties to Mark Romanek (One Hour Photo, Never Let Me Go). So what makes Inferno so special? Two things, it’s been atop the best-sellers list since its release back in May, and it returns Langdon to Europe for this adventure rather than trekking though the Washington D.C. area as in The Lost Symbol.
So what does this mean for any future Lost Symbol movie? Well, it’s probably still in the mix, and this wouldn’t be the first time Sony’s made the Langdon books out of order; Angels & Demons preceded The Da Vinci Code in terms of publishing order after all.
As for Inferno, look for the eventual film to play pretty close to the book in which Langdon is dragged into another bout of international intrigue involving the World Health Organization, worldwide plague, shadowy conspirators and Dante’s ode to the afterlife, The Divine Comedy. Sony is aiming for a December 18th, 2015 release date.
Now the question is, who will play Langdon’s female sidekick, Sienna Brooks? Comment below with your suggestions.
Source: /Film