Angels And Demons didn't do as well, box office-wise, as The Da Vinci Code (presumably because many of its potential audience had seen The Da Vinci Code), but still, half a billion dollars in ticket sales is not to be sniffed at. Sony remain determined to crack the screenplay for Dan Brown's third Robert Langdon conspiracy epic The Lost Symbol, and Danny Strong is the latest man for the job.

Strong's task will be to overhaul the script already attempted by Brown himself and Steven Knight (Eastern Promises, the new Rebecca). He's faced with a story set after The Da Vinci Code, taking place this time entirely on American soil, involving a huge secret plot about freemasonry. Langdon will decipher clues, and will explain what he's doing the entire time, whether there's anyone there to talk to or not.

Strong wrote the upcoming Sarah Palin film Game Change for HBO, so he at least has a feel for the unlikely already. 

Ron Howard isn't directing The Lost Symbol (as he did The Da Vinci Code and Angels & Demons), and Deadline seem reasonably confident that, as previously reported, Mark Romanek is still on board. Tom Hanks is expected to come back, and Howard is still producing, along with his regular cohort Brian Grazer.

The Lost Symbol is the fastest-selling adult novel of all time. It's 2012 and the world is ending.