The Robert Langdon franchise consists of American action-adventure mystery-thriller installments, including three theatrical films directed by Ron Howard, and a television series.[2][3] The films, based on the novel series written by Dan Brown, center on the fictional character of Robert Langdon. Though based on the book series, the films have a different chronological order, consisting of: The Da Vinci Code (2006), Angels & Demons (2009) and Inferno (2016), all starring Tom Hanks as Langdon, alongside different ensemble casts. Despite mixed-to-negative critical reception, the films are considered box office successes, having a combined gross total of $1.5 billion worldwide.
| Robert Langdon | |
|---|---|
 Official home release artwork, for the film trilogy. | |
| Directed by | Ron Howard |
| Based on | Robert Langdon novels by Dan Brown |
| Starring | Tom Hanks (See list below) |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by | Sony Pictures Entertainment |
Release date | 2006–2021 |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $350 million[1] |
| Box office | $1,463,474,856[1] |
The television series, a contemporary-prequel titled The Lost Symbol (2021), starring Ashley Zukerman as Langdon, explores the early years of Langdon's career.
Development
editDan Brown's novels about Professor Robert Langdon: Angels & Demons (2000), The Da Vinci Code (2003) and Inferno (2013), quickly became international bestsellers; they were soon adapted into films by Columbia Pictures with Ron Howard directing and producing.
Films
edit| Film | U.S. release date | Director | Screenwriter(s) | Producer(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Da Vinci Code | May 19, 2006 | Ron Howard | Akiva Goldsman | Brian Grazer and John Calley |
| Angels & Demons | May 15, 2009 | Akiva Goldsman and David Koepp | Brian Grazer, John Calley and Ron Howard | |
| Inferno | October 28, 2016 | David Koepp | Brian Grazer and Ron Howard |
Television
editThe Lost Symbol
editFollowing the worldwide successes of the first two films,[4][5] Columbia Pictures began development on a film adaptation of The Lost Symbol.[6][7] Hanks and Howard were scheduled to return as star and director, with Brian Grazer and John Calley as producers, while a script was collectively co-written by Steven Knight,[8] original author Dan Brown,[9] and Danny Strong.[10] By January 2013, the final draft of the script was near completion, with pre-production expected to start later that year.[11] However, in July Sony Pictures announced they would adapt Inferno as the next film instead.[12][13]
In June 2019, the project was announced to be re-conceived as a television series tentatively titled Langdon. The series serves as a prequel to the film series, with Daniel Cerone serving as creator, showrunner, chief executive producer, and screenwriter. Dan Brown, Ron Howard, Brian Grazer, Francie Calfo, Samie Falvey and Anna Culp will act as additional executive producers. The show will be a co-production between Imagine Television Studios, CBS Television Studios, and Universal Television Studios and was ordered to series on NBC.
The plot revolves around a young Robert Langdon, who is hired by the CIA to solve a number of deadly puzzles when his mentor goes missing.[14] By March 2020, Ashley Zukerman had been cast in the lead role.[15] Later that month it was announced that the production had been given a series order and would be moving to Peacock.[16] The show premiered on September 16, 2021, concluded on November 18, 2021, and was officially canceled after one season on January 24, 2022.[17]
Cast and characters
editThis section includes characters who will appear or have appeared in the series.
- An empty, dark grey cell indicates the character was not in the film, or that the character's official presence has not yet been confirmed.
- Y indicates a younger version of the character.
| Character | Film | Television | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Da Vinci Code | Angels & Demons | Inferno | Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol | |
| Prof. Robert Langdon | Tom Hanks Uncredited actorY | Tom Hanks | Ashley Zukerman | |
| Sophie Neveu | Audrey Tautou Garance Mazureck,Y Daisy Doidge-Hill,Y Lilli Ella KelleherY | |||
| Sir Leigh Teabing The Teacher | Ian McKellen | |||
| Bishop Manuel Aringarosa | Alfred Molina | |||
| Capt. Bezu Fache | Jean Reno | |||
| André Vernet | Jürgen Prochnow | |||
| Silas | Paul Bettany Hugh MitchellY | |||
| Jacques Saunière | Jean-Pierre Marielle | |||
| Remy Jean | Jean-Yves Berteloot | |||
| Father Patrick McKenna | Ewan McGregor | |||
| Dr. Vittoria Vetra | Ayelet Zurer | |||
| Cdr. Maximilian Richter | Stellan Skarsgård | |||
| Cardinal Strauss | Armin Mueller-Stahl | |||
| Lt. Chartrand | Thure Lindhardt | |||
| Dr. Sienna Brooks | Felicity Jones | |||
| Christoph Bouchard | Omar Sy | |||
| Bertrand Zobrist | Ben Foster | |||
| Elizabeth Sinskey | Sidse Babett Knudsen | |||
| Harry Sims The Provost | Irrfan Khan | |||
| Peter Solomon | Eddie Izzard | |||
| Isabel Solomon | Laura De Carteret | |||
| Katherine Solomon | Valorie Curry | |||
| Zachary Solomon | Keenan Jolliff | |||
| Mal'akh | Beau Knapp | |||
| Ofc. Alfonso Nuñez | Rick Gonzalez | |||
| DoS/CIA Inoue Sato | Sumalee Montano | |||
Additional crew and production details
edit| Film | Composer | Cinematographer | Editor(s) | Production companies | Distributing companies | Running time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Da Vinci Code | Hans Zimmer | Salvatore Totino | Dan Hanley & Mike Hill | Columbia Pictures, Imagine Entertainment, Skylark Productions, Government of Malta | Sony Pictures Releasing | 2hr 28min |
| Angels & Demons | Columbia Pictures, Imagine Entertainment, Skylark Productions, Panorama Film Studios | 2hr 18min | ||||
| Inferno | Dan Hanley & Tom Elkins | Columbia Pictures, Imagine Entertainment, LSG Productions, LS Capital Film Corporation, Mid Atlantic Films | 2hr 1min | |||
| The Lost Symbol | Will Bates | Gyula Pados, Fraser Brown, Boris Mojsovski, and David Greene | David Trachtenberg, Greg Sirota, Mark J. Goldman, Alexander Aquino-Kaljakin, and Juan Carlos Garza | Universal Television, Imagine Television Studios[broken anchor], Peacock Original Series, CBS Studios, Dworkin/Beattie Productions | Peacock | 5hr 30min (approx. 40 min per episode) |
Reception
editBox office performance
edit| Film | Box office gross | Box office ranking | Budget | Ref(s) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opening weekend (North America) | North America | Other territories | Worldwide | All time North America | All time worldwide | |||
| The Da Vinci Code | $77,073,388 | $217,536,138 | $540,703,713 | $758,239,851 | #146 | #71 | $125 million | [18] |
| Angels & Demons | $46,204,168 | $133,375,846 | $352,554,970 | $485,930,816 | #390 | #170 | $150 million | [19] |
| Inferno | $14,860,425 | $34,343,574 | $185,677,685 | $220,021,259 | #2,244 | #586 | $75 million | [20] |
| Total | $385,255,558 | $1,078,936,368 | $1,464,191,926 | $350 million | [1] | |||
Critical and public response
edit| Film | Rotten Tomatoes | Metacritic | CinemaScore |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Da Vinci Code | 25% (231 reviews)[21] | 46 (40 reviews)[22] | B+[23] |
| Angels & Demons | 36% (258 reviews)[24] | 48 (36 reviews)[25] | B+[23] |
| Inferno | 23% (254 reviews)[26] | 42 (47 reviews)[27] | B+[23] |
| The Lost Symbol | 55% (11 reviews)[28] | 57 (6 reviews)[29] | — |
References
edit- ^ a b c "Robert Langdon". Box Office Mojo. November 13, 2016.
- ^ Dutta, Debopriyaa (September 15, 2021). "Robert Langdon Franchise Recap: What To Know Before The Lost Symbol". Screen Rant. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
- ^ Andreeva, Nellie (June 5, 2019). "NBC Nabs Robert Langdon Drama Based On Dan Brown's 'The Lost Symbol' From Imagine With Big Commitment". Deadline. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
- ^ "The Da Vinci Code". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved June 7, 2014.
- ^ "Angels & Demons". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved June 7, 2014.
- ^ Fleming, Michael (2009-04-20). "Columbia moves on 'Symbol'". Variety.com. Retrieved 2009-09-01.
- ^ "The Mystery of Dan Brown". The Guardian. London. September 2009. Retrieved September 22, 2009.
- ^ Siegel, Tatiana (February 3, 2010). "Columbia finds 'Symbol'; Knight to adapt third book in 'Da Vinci Code' series". Variety. Reed Business Information. Retrieved February 4, 2010.
- ^ Fernandez, Jay A.; Kit, Borys (2010-12-20). "EXCLUSIVE: Dan Brown Taking Over 'Lost Symbol' Screenplay". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on November 14, 2014. Retrieved 2015-11-21.
- ^ Williams, Owen (March 2, 2012). "New Writer For The Lost Symbol: Dan Brown 3 gets an overhaul". Empire
- ^ Nicole Sperling (January 15, 2013). "Dan Brown: What's the film status of his book 'The Lost Symbol'?". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 22, 2013.
- ^ Tom Hanks' 'Inferno' Shifts Opening to 2016
- ^ "Tom Hanks And Ron Howard To Return For Next Dan Brown Movie 'Inferno'; Sony Sets December 2015 Release Date". Deadline Hollywood. July 16, 2013. Retrieved July 16, 2013.
- ^ "NBC Nabs Robert Langdon Drama Based on Dan Brown's 'The Lost Symbol' from Imagine with Big Commitment". 5 June 2019.
- ^ "Ashley Zukerman Cast as Robert Langdon in NBC Drama Pilot". 2 March 2020.
- ^ "'Dan Brown's Langdon' NBC Pilot Picked Up To Series By Peacock". Deadline Hollywood. March 9, 2021. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
- ^ "'Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol' Canceled at Peacock After One Season". January 24, 2022.
- ^ "The Da Vinci Code". Box Office Mojo. October 22, 2016.
- ^ "Angels & Demons". Box Office Mojo. October 22, 2016.
- ^ "Inferno". Box Office Mojo. November 13, 2016.
- ^ "The Da Vinci Code". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. Retrieved October 22, 2016.
- ^ "The Da Vinci Code". Metacritic. CBS. Retrieved October 22, 2016.
- ^ a b c "Cinemascore". Cinemascore.com. Retrieved October 22, 2016.
- ^ "Angels & Demons". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. Retrieved December 16, 2023.
- ^ "Angels & Demons". Metacritic. CBS. Retrieved October 22, 2016.
- ^ "Inferno". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. Retrieved December 16, 2023.
- ^ "Inferno". Metacritic. CBS. Retrieved October 28, 2016.
- ^ "Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
- ^ "Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol". Metacritic. CBS. Retrieved November 7, 2021.