When it was reported back in July that Ron Howard would not be directing The Lost Symbol, the third film adapted from Dan Brown's Robert Langdon trilogy, I'm sure that agents around the world began pressing numbers and trying to get their director clients involved. While Angels & Demons only made $133 million domestically on a $150 million budget, the movie was still an overseas hit and ended up making nearly $500 million worldwide by the end of its run. As a result the director's chair for the third movie is likely a spot any filmmaker would at least have a passing interest in and now the frontrunner has been revealed.
According to Deadline, Mark Romanek is apparently the number one choice to replace Howard as the helmer of The Last Symbol. The follow up to both The Da Vinci Code and Angels & Demons, the movie once again follows symbologist Robert Langdon (plaeyed Tom Hanks, who is expected to return) as he investigates a mystery involving the Freemasons. Howard and partner Brian Grazer are still attached as producers on the project. Brown's book was on the top of the New York Times' best seller list for six weeks after its release and holds the record for the fastest selling adult novel in history. The script was written by Brown (who is making his screenwriting debut) and Steven Knight (Eastern Promises, Dirty Pretty Things). Romanek is not yet in negotiations, but is expected to enter them soon.
So what do we think, Dan Brown fans? Is the One Hour Photo/Never Let Me Go filmmaker the right man for the job? Sound off in the comments section below.
