A fresh take on The Da Vinci Code

Fans of The Da Vinci Code and Dan Brown’s Robert Langdon novels will receive a new adaptation of Brown’s 2009 thriller The Lost Symbol, which goes to NBCUniversal’s Peacock streaming service.

The series takes the franchise in a new direction and starts the Langdon story anew with a new cast and series format.

NBCUniversal shared the first three episodes of The Lost Symbol Android authority before the premiere. Read on to find out our thoughts on restarting the Da Vinci Code.

Dan Brown’s The Lost Symbol premieres Thursday September 16 only on Peacock.

When Harvard symbolologist Robert Langdon arrives at the US Capitol to give a lecture for his mentor Peter Solomon, he quickly realizes that the invitation did not come from Solomon, but from his kidnapper. After Solomon’s severed hand was left behind and CIA agents were mysteriously involved, Langdon teams up with a Capitol cop and Solomon’s daughter, Katherine, to get to the bottom of things.

Langdon must follow clues and puzzle his way through historical artifacts and ciphers as his mentor’s kidnappers play with him. In true Dan Brown fashion, he has to deal with Freemasons and ancient conspiracies. And some crippling claustrophobia and experimental paranormal science make it all a little funnier.

The series follows Langdon and his companions as they try to find Peter Solomon and get him home safely. In the meantime, they have to be one step ahead of the CIA without knowing exactly how deep this rabbit hole goes or who is involved in it.

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Brown’s novel was originally intended to be adapted as a sequel to The Da Vinci Code and Angels & Demons, with Tom Hanks repeating his role as Robert Langdon.

Instead, the production team adapted Brown’s bestseller Inferno from 2013. So this is the first adaptation outside of this main film series and a kind of restart of the franchise.

A new version of The Da Vinci Code

The Lost Symbol feels like a fresh reinterpretation of Dan Brown’s work that has now been practically immortalized in the films of Ron Howard.

But nobody is reinventing the wheel here. The series is being produced by the director / producer duo Ron Howard and Brian Grazer of The Da Vinci Code through their production company Imagine Entertainment. Dan Trachtenberg also produces and stages the pilot.

It retains a lot of what the films did. But it also feels like a clever update. Tom Hanks is great in virtually every role he takes on, including Robert Langdon, but his take on the character feels like his time. He’s the smartest guy in the room and everyone accepts that, but that makes him a little smug and overbearing.

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With Ashley Zukerman’s version of Langdon, we get a younger, less experienced Langdon. He’s still brilliant, of course, because the role demands it. But he is challenged because of his complacency by people no less intelligent or determined to find Solomon.

The Robert Langdons of the world can sometimes have tunnel vision. You can rely on your own expertise. And they can have the affirmation of teaching young spirits go to their heads. The Lost Symbol understands this about Langdon and leaves a little room for dissent without necessarily undermining Langdon’s clever puzzle solution.

His compatriots are just as capable as he is, but with different abilities that sometimes conflict with his. This makes for more dynamic storytelling and TV fun in general.

Dan Brown’s The Lost Symbol Review: Judgment

Dan Brown’s The Lost Symbol is a solid series that not only updates and energizes the Da Vinci Code franchise. It combines the narrative efficiency of network TV of yesteryear with the complex, rewarding world formation of the streaming age.

It works effectively like a police process, with Robert Langdon and his colleagues as field detectives. But there’s a touch of Indiana Jones too. (Langdon and Katherine fondly remember Raiders of the Lost Ark along with a quick wink to the audience.)

Sometimes the show wallows in the strange and the dark, reminiscent of another NBC series – and one way too early – Hannibal. Peter Solomon’s cryptic dream sequences are particularly reminiscent of the more experimental elements of this show. Not to mention Eddie Izzard, who appears in both.

The main cast work well together, with Rick Gonzalez and Valorie Curry in particular keeping Langdon’s aforementioned complacency at bay. At least enough to add some much-needed tension.

There’s nothing like a good bad guy either, and like the abundantly tattooed, cheerfully violent Mal’akh, Beau Knapp is creepily good. Knapp has been watching projects like Destroyer and The Good Lord Bird since, and The Lost Symbol will hopefully keep its star rising.

All in all, the series is a real winner. And it’s a surprisingly welcome reboot of a franchise that already seemed neatly wrapped up.

You can watch the premiere of Dan Brown’s The Lost Symbol on September 16 on Peacock.