Based on 'The Lost Symbol',
Dan Brown's third book in his Robert Langdon series. Sony planned to adapt the book as the third movie in the movie franchise early in the 2010s, following
The Da Vinci Code (2006) and
Angels & Demons (2009). However, production of that adaptation became too complicated as
Ron Howard preferred to only produce it rather than directing, and
Tom Hanks would not be returning as Professor Robert Langdon. In the end, the production took so long that the novel 'Inferno' was released in 2013, and Sony decided to skip 'The Lost Symbol' and make
Inferno (2016) instead, for which most of the crew of the previous films returned, including Howard as director and Hanks as the main character. Because the series is a prequel to the movies, Hanks was replaced as the younger Langdon with
Ashley Zukerman, but Brown, Howard and franchise producer
Brian Grazer have remained on board as executive producers.
