'The Lost Symbol' TV Show Shakes Up the Timeline in Dan Brown's Novel Series
Sep. 14 2021, Published 2:56 p.m. ET
Though many new shows in the fall 2021 lineup will air on network television, Peacock is set to compete with the highly-anticipated drama, The Lost Symbol.
The 10-episode show is based on the 2009 novel of the same name by Dan Brown. It's the third work in the Robert Langdon series, which also includes The Da Vinci Code, Angels & Demons, Inferno, and Origin. Tom Hanks previously portrayed Robert Langdon in the big screen adaptations of three of those novels.
The Forrest Gump actor is not reprising his role in The Lost Symbol show for Peacock, leading some fans to wonder how it fits in with the timeline of the aforementioned film adaptations.
Is Dan Brown's 'The Lost Symbol' a sequel to 'Angels & Demons'?
The TV version of The Lost Symbol novel is a prequel to the events that transpire in the film versions of The Da Vinci Code and Angels & Demons. It focuses on a young Robert Langdon, when he is in the early part of his career as a symbology professor at Harvard University (which also serves as an explanation for the absence of Tom Hanks).
On the show, the younger Robert is looking to decipher symbols for the CIA after his mentor is kidnapped.
Though the TV series is a prequel, Dan Brown's novel of the same name is actually a sequel to The Da Vinci Code (which came after Angels & Demons).
The Lost Symbol is finally hitting the screen as a television show, but the book was originally going to be adapted as a movie. After The Da Vinci Code and Angels & Demons became critical successes in 2006 and 2009, respectively, Columbia Pictures planned to next produce The Lost Symbol.
Tom Hanks and director Ron Howard were reportedly set to return for the film, and three screenwriters were hired to work on the script. However, in 2016, Sony Pictures shared that Dan Brown's other work, Inferno, would be adapted instead.
Inferno is the fourth book in the Robert Langdon series, and the events in the novel take place after The Lost Symbol.
Peacock shared 'The Lost Symbol' release date, and the first images of the cast.
The pilot will debut on Peacock on Thursday, Sept. 16. New episodes will continue to come out each Thursday.
Succession and Designated Survivor actor Ashley Zukerman will play Robert Langdon in The Lost Symbol. He is joined in the cast by Valorie Curry and Eddie Izzard. The two will portray the father-daughter duo Katherine and Peter Solomon.
Peter is Robert's mentor, who goes missing early on in the series. Katherine, who is a scientist, is the professor's love interest.
E.R. alum Sumalee Montano will star on The Lost Symbol as CIA Director Sato, and Arrow actor Rick Gonzalez will portray Nunez.
The main villain in the Peacock show is the heavily-tattooed Mal'akh (Beau Knapp), who may remind viewers of Silas (Paul Bettany) from The Da Vinci Code.
Check out the trailer for the show below!
