Just yesterday, the Los Angeles Times published an article talking about how Akiva Goldsman is writing non-stop to finish the script for The Da Vinci Code sequel Angels & Demons before the writers strike is expected to happen on Nov. 1.
Now, Variety adds that Columbia Pictures has set a February start date for the film, again to be directed by Ron Howard for a December 19, 2008 release. The trade says the production has begun casting around Tom Hanks, who will reprise his role as Robert Langdon.
Hanks’ character, a Harvard-based expert on religious symbols, this time sleuths a mystery that involves a secret society and a conspiracy that leads to Vatican City and threatens the future of the Catholic Church.
Dan Brown wrote “Angels & Demons” prior to “The Da Vinci Code,” but after the first film grossed $218 million domestic and $758 million worldwide, the studio made a deal with Goldsman to turn the earlier novel into a sequel.