Dan Brown’s legendary symbologist/action-hero has a new home over at Netflix, with the streamer set to adapt the author’s upcoming new Robert Langdon book, The Secret of Secrets.
The adaptation has been co-created by Brown alongside former Lost producer Carlton Cuse, who will also serve as showrunner, and marks the fifth live action appearance of Langdon after three blockbuster movies and a somewhat forgotten Peacock show.
The franchise kicked off with The Da Vinci Code back in 2006, after the original 2003 novel became a global smash, selling over 80 million copies and becoming the best-selling American novel of all time.
The film adaptation was directed by Ron Howard and starred Tom Hanks as Langdon, alongside the likes of Audrey Tautou, Ian McKellen, Alfred Molina, Jean Reno and Paul Bettany.
Despite mixed critical reviews, the film was a hit with audiences, generating $760 million worldwide and becoming the second-highest-grossing film of the year (after Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, if you’re interested).
Two sequels followed, with Angels and Demons – based on the first book in the franchise – arriving in 2009, and the belated Inferno, based on the fourth novel, hitting screens in 2016.
Howard returned to direct both instalments but poor reception and disappointing box office results saw the cinematic aspirations for the franchise put to bed with Hanks’ trilogy.
Langdon did return, however, in the form of Peacock’s The Lost Symbol in 2021. The show reimagined the source novel as a prequel of sorts, casting Ashley Zukerman (Succession, Fear Street) as a young Robert Langdon, hired by the CIA to solve a series of puzzles linked to the disappearance of his mentor Peter Solomon (Eddie Izzard). However, the show was met with poor critical response, and dwindling audiences saw Peacock cancel the series after just one season.
But there seems to be life in the franchise yet, with one of the best streaming services set to skip book five in the series, Origin, and instead deliver a big budget adaptation of the upcoming sixth installment, The Secret of Secrets.
What can we expect from The Secret of Secrets?
While Peacock’s iteration served as a quasi-prequel to the films, Netflix look set to completely reboot the franchise, with neither Hanks nor Zukerman set to reprise their role currently (and it’s incredibly unlikely that will change), and no involvement from Howard.
The novel doesn’t land until September, so there’s not a huge amount out there about what we can expect from the new series, but Netflix has teased: “In the upcoming novel, Langdon, an esteemed symbologist, races against ancient forces and time to rescue a missing scientist, whose groundbreaking manuscript contains discoveries that have the power to forever change humanity’s understanding of the mind. The yet-to-be-titled TV series will blend futuristic science with mystical lore, delivering on the heart-pounding suspense and international intrigue that have made the Langdon stories a global phenomenon.”
We do know from previews of the novel that The Lost Symbol’s Katherine Solomon is likely to appear, previously played by Valorie Curry, while settings could include Prague, New York and London.
If previous Langdon adventures are anything to go by, we’d expect a global treasure hunt, cryptic puzzles and terrifying henchmen wrapped up in a race against time with a final act twist that’ll make your head spin.
Whatever the case, it’s likely to be an addictive, binge-worthy series and potentially one of the best Netflix shows, and I can’t wait to see who’ll be next to strap on the Mickey Mouse watch.
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For more Netflix TV show-based coverage, read our guides on Stranger Things season 5, One Piece season 2, Squid Game season 3, and Knives Out 3.