The Da Vinci Code Series In Chronological Order

Here's The Da Vinci Code movie franchise and The Lost Symbol TV show in chronological order. The Da Vinci Code was the second novel from author Dan Brown to feature his recurring protagonist Robert Langdon, the renowned "symbologist." The plot sees Langdon called in to investigate a murder at the Louvre that soon sees him on the run from the police, an albino assassin, and a secret society while discovering information that Jesus Christ may have fathered a child with Mary Magdalene. The book didn't attract great reviews and was widely condemned by the church, none of which prevented it from becoming a gigantic bestseller.

It was really only a matter of time until a movie was made, and Tom Hanks eventually stepped forward to play Robert Langdon in 2006's The Da Vinci Code. The same criticisms that dogged Dan Brown's book also greeted the movie, with a frequent source of complaint being how the narrative essentially stops dead every so often while characters can explain the plot. Moviegoers clearly didn't mind as the movie grossed over $750 million worldwide and paved the way for a movie franchise. And with the streaming wars in full force, it's not surprising that a move to television is also in store for Dan Brown's hero Robert Langdon.

None of The Da Vinci Code franchise - AKA the Robert Langdon film and TV series - have received spectacular reviews by critics, but they've mostly been hits. That said, there was a noticeable downturn in profit with each entry. While plans for a fourth Robert Langdon movie currently appear not to be on the cards, the original plans for the third installment, Inferno, were to adapt an entirely different Dan Brown book – The Lost Symbol. Director Ron Howard and star Tom Hanks abandoned that plan, stating that the material went over too much of the same ground as The Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons, and opted to adapt the newer book in the franchise. But those plans were not entirely abandoned, with The Lost Symbol eventually making its way into a TV format, with some major changes, including moving its appearance in the timeline to be a prequel to Da Vinci Code, including recasting Robert Langdon with a younger Ashley Zuckerman (Succession, Fear Street). The TV show, which takes the action to Washington, D.C., and has Langdon investigating the actions of the Freemasons and searching for his abducted friend and mentor (Eddie Izzard), has had middling to positive reviews (far better than the movies fared critically) and is sure to find an audience, given how popular the movies were. It might just be the fresh look the franchise needed to get Langdon back out and investigating oddities both with real history and a whole load of fake invention. Here's the franchise in chronological order.

• The Lost Symbol (2021)
• The Da Vinci Code (2006)
• Angels & Demons (2009)
• Inferno (2016)

Angels & Demons was actually the first novel in Dan Brown's book series but was reworked to be a sequel following the success of The Da Vinci Code. Ron Howard - who directed all three movies - clearly took criticisms of the first movie to heart too, and ensured the sequel moved at a quicker pace and didn't get overly bogged down in exposition. This might be why Angels & Demons received arguably the best reviews of the Robert Langdon movie trilogy.

It's certainly much more enjoyable than 2016's Inferno, which sees Langdon suffering from some plot convenient amnesia while racing against time to stop a plot that will wipe out half the planet's population. Inferno's story barely holds together and the movie occasionally drags even more than The Da Vinci Code. It's somewhat helped by performances from Felicity Jones and the late Irrfan Khan, but it's the weakest of the franchise and has the gross to match. Time will tell whether Robert Langdon's television outing might fare better critically than the movies did. Whatever happens, it appears Tom Hanks' reign as Robert Langdon is over now, with Ashley Zukerman set to take over playing the character who debuted in The Da Vinci Code – whether more outings are likely depends on the reception and success of The Lost Symbol TV show.

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