Random House has released pics of the UK edition of Dan Brown's new novel The Lost Symbol, and, if the cover is anything to go by, we can safely surmise that the movie will be set in Washington D.C. and see Harvard symbolist/plot-summariser Robert Langdon on the trail of a Masonic mystery.
OK, so we kinda knew that: the book has been shrouded in mystery but Brown has revealed that The Lost Symbol will be the first Langdon novel to be set on US soil and would "explore the hidden history of our nation's capital" - but it's worth mentioning again. The fact that (a) the first two books/films weren't much good, and (b) National Treasure has already covered the same ground that this third book/probable-film will (apparently) tread won't stop the Langdon juggernaut heading to a multiplex near you in the near(ish) future.
The franchise has grossed $1.2 *billion *worldwide so far, so the decision to greenlight the third movie as soon as the book was announced probably didn't take very long. And the likelihood is that it won't take Ron Howard or Tom Hanks too long to sign up either. As Howard told **Empire **recently: "I enjoyed making Angels And Demons, and I know Tom did too. I'd be very curious to read the next novel."
Which leaves one big question: what will Robert Langdon's hairdresser russle up for part three? Our money's on a Barry Venison.
