Robert Langdon (franchise)

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 byRon Howard
Based onRobert Langdon novels
by Dan Brown
StarringTom Hanks
(See list below)
Production
companies
Distributed bySony Pictures Entertainment
Paramount Global
Release date
2006–2021
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
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

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Dan 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

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Film U.S.
release date
Director Screenwriter(s) Producer(s)
The Da Vinci Code May 19, 2006 (2006-05-19) Ron Howard Akiva Goldsman Brian Grazer and John Calley
Angels & Demons May 15, 2009 (2009-05-15) Akiva Goldsman and David Koepp Brian Grazer, John Calley and Ron Howard
Inferno October 28, 2016 (2016-10-28) David Koepp Brian Grazer and Ron Howard

Television

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SeriesSeasonsEpisodesOriginally releasedNetworkShowrunners
The Lost Symbol110September 16 – November 18, 2021 (2021-09-16 – 2021-11-18)PeacockDan Dworkin and Jay Beattie

The Lost Symbol

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Following 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] In July 2013, 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 was 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

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List indicators

This 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

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Film Composer Cinematographer Editors 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,
Peacock Original Series,
CBS Studios,
Dworkin/Beattie Productions
Peacock 5hr 30min
(approx. 40 min per episode)

Reception

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Box office performance

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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

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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

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  1. ^ a b c "Robert Langdon". Box Office Mojo. November 13, 2016.
  2. ^ Dutta, Debopriyaa (September 15, 2021). "Robert Langdon Franchise Recap: What To Know Before The Lost Symbol". Screen Rant. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
  3. ^ 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.
  4. ^ "The Da Vinci Code". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved June 7, 2014.
  5. ^ "Angels & Demons". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved June 7, 2014.
  6. ^ Fleming, Michael (2009-04-20). "Columbia moves on 'Symbol'". Variety.com. Retrieved 2009-09-01.
  7. ^ "The Mystery of Dan Brown". The Guardian. London. September 2009. Retrieved September 22, 2009.
  8. ^ 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.
  9. ^ 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.
  10. ^ Williams, Owen (March 2, 2012). "New Writer For The Lost Symbol: Dan Brown 3 gets an overhaul". Empire
  11. ^ 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.
  12. ^ Tom Hanks' 'Inferno' Shifts Opening to 2016
  13. ^ "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.
  14. ^ "NBC Nabs Robert Langdon Drama Based on Dan Brown's 'The Lost Symbol' from Imagine with Big Commitment". 5 June 2019.
  15. ^ "Ashley Zukerman Cast as Robert Langdon in NBC Drama Pilot". 2 March 2020.
  16. ^ "'Dan Brown's Langdon' NBC Pilot Picked Up To Series By Peacock". Deadline Hollywood. March 9, 2021. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
  17. ^ "'Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol' Canceled at Peacock After One Season". January 24, 2022.
  18. ^ "The Da Vinci Code". Box Office Mojo. October 22, 2016.
  19. ^ "Angels & Demons". Box Office Mojo. October 22, 2016.
  20. ^ "Inferno". Box Office Mojo. November 13, 2016.
  21. ^ "The Da Vinci Code". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. Retrieved October 22, 2016.
  22. ^ "The Da Vinci Code". Metacritic. CBS. Retrieved October 22, 2016.
  23. ^ a b c "Cinemascore". Cinemascore.com. Retrieved October 22, 2016.
  24. ^ "Angels & Demons". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. Retrieved December 16, 2023.
  25. ^ "Angels & Demons". Metacritic. CBS. Retrieved October 22, 2016.
  26. ^ "Inferno". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. Retrieved December 16, 2023.
  27. ^ "Inferno". Metacritic. CBS. Retrieved October 28, 2016.
  28. ^ "Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
  29. ^ "Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol". Metacritic. CBS. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
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