News emerged back in July that Ron Howard, director of the adaptation of Dan Brown’s best-selling novels The Da Vinci Code and Angels & Demons, had decided that he wouldn’t be returning to direct the next film adapting Brown’s work featuring Robert Langdon, The Lost Symbol.
Word now comes from Deadline that Mark Romanek (Never Let Me Go, One Hour Photo) has emerged as the frontrunner for the directing job, with official talks expected to get underway soon.
Romanek has garnered himself a healthy dose of critical acclaim with his two feature films to date, One Hour Photo and last year’s Never Let Me go. The majority of his directing work has been in the direction of music videos though, working with artists as varied as Coldplay, Madonna, Jay-Z, Michael Jackson, Lenny Kravitz, Weezer, Linkin Park, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Johnny Cash, Audioslave, R.E.M. – the list goes on. And his work in the music video business has earned some substantial recognition, winning three Grammy Awards for Best Short Form Music Video over the years, which is more than any other director in the category.
The original novel sees Langdon going to Washington, D.C. to save his mentor and uncover the lost secrets of the Freemasons. Brown, himself, has been working on the script for the film, along with Steven Knight (Eastern Promises), and though not officially signed on, Tom Hanks is expected to reprise his role as the leading man, Langdon. More news on Romanek’s involvement and everything else surrounding the project as we get it.
