Did you like the film adaptations of Dan Brown’s novels, “Da Vinci Code”, “Angels and Demons” and “Inferno” and are you wondering if another film is planned? We’ll answer you!
Angels and Demons by Ron Howard is broadcast this evening on France 3. On this occasion, we take stock of a possible fourth film adapted from the literary work of Dan Brown featuring Professor Robert Langdon played on screen by Tom Hanks.
The Robert Langdon saga currently consists of 3 films, all directed by Ron Howard and worn by Tom Hanks. Released in 2006, Da Vinci Code with Audrey Tautou and Ian McKellen (rated 1.4/5 stars by the press) grossed $760 million at the international box office; 3 years later, Angels and Demons worn by Ewan McGregor, Ayelet Zurer and Stellan Skarsgård (rated 2.4/5 by the press) collected 485 million greenbacks; and in 2016, Inferno with Sienna Miller, Omar Sy and Felicity Jones (rated 2.2/5 by the press) collected $220 million at the worldwide box office.
As early as 2011, the studios were considering adapting the novel for the screen. The Lost Symbol, the third literary adventure of the professor of symbology at Harvard. However, the producers decided to favor the adaptation of Inferno, the fourth work in the Robert Langdon series.
Published in 2009, The Lost Symbol of Dan Brown takes place in Washington DC. Robert Langdon embarks on a race against time in search of Freemasonry’s best-kept secret.
Very quickly, Ron Howard announced that he would not direct the film. Mark Romanek (Photo Obsession, Locke & Key) is then approached. But the feature film project was ultimately abandoned in favor of a series in the form of a prequel.
Sony Pictures Tom Hanks
“The Lost Symbol” abandoned by Tom Hanks and Ron Howard
In an interview given to the site CinemaBlend in 2016, Tom Hanks explains having worked with Ron Howard on the adaptation of Lost symbol for a while to evaluate if it would work. But the two men came to the conclusion that the plot was too reminiscent of previous films in the franchise and did not wish to continue the exploration.
The Oscar winner explains: “We worked on The Lost Symbol for a while to see if there was anything that could be done, and in the end, Washington, D.C. and the Freemasons issue was very reminiscent of the theoretical dilemmas of The Da Vinci Code and ‘Angels and Demons. So we told the producers that we didn’t think there was anything there to hold on to..”
The producers therefore decided to make it a single-season series whose action takes place before the feature films. Developed by screenwriters Dan Dworkin and Jay Beattie, The Lost Symbol airs in 2021 and sees Ashley Zukerman reprise the role of Robert Langdon. Valorie Curry, Suzy Eddie Izzard and Beau Knapp are also in the cast.
Sony Pictures
Inferno
Will Tom Hanks return for a fourth feature film?
However, there is little probability that Tom Hanks will be back for a fourth opus. In June 2022, the actor told the New York Times that he did not have good memories of the filming and that the trilogy was purely commercial.
Both sequels are rubbish. Da Vinci Code is nonsense.
“Oh, my God, it was like a business venture. Both sequels are rubbish. Da Vinci Code is rubbish,” declares the American, before adding : “These are treasure hunts that are about as historically credible as the James Bond spy films are. But we were promising the audience good entertainment. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to do good business, but the box office results of Inferno proved to us that we weren’t doing that good of a business.”
With $220 million collected worldwide for a budget of $75 million, Inferno was a disappointment and contributed to the fact that The Lost Symbol was instead adapted into a mini-series.
Tom Hanks’ Robert Langdon should therefore not return to the cinema.