You didn’t exactly need a secret message buried in a work of art to figure out that Sony had only one thing on its mind after The Da Vinci Code made $231.8 million dollars worldwide this weekend.
But here’s a crafty anagram anyway: quelse. Yes, if you managed to crack it, you’ll know that the studio has now locked Akiva Goldsman in a dark room and won’t let him come out to see his family until he’s adapted Dan Brown’s first Robert Langdon adventure. It shouldn’t be too much work – 2000’s Angels & Demons follows a strikingly similar plot to Code in that it sees Langdon trying to solve a murder and uncovering a complicated plot by a dangerous order. Swap out Opus Dei for the Illuminati and change “expose Jesus’ marriage and children” to “blow up the Pope in the Vatican” and you pretty much have it done. Plus Demons is also a mega-bestseller, so there’s definitely an audience out there.
Expect uber producer Brian Grazer to sign up for shepherding duties once again and, while they’re not locked into deals for the follow-up, you can bet that Sony’s executive will offer them lucrative deals.