10 Movie Adaptations That Should Have Been TV Shows

3. The Robert Langdon Series

Dan Brown’s theological thrillers have all been hugely successful, especially The Da Vinci Code. Though the books aren’t the most eloquently written pieces of fiction, Brown’s knack for intrigue and tension is highly commendable.

It’s a shame, therefore, that Ron Howard’s adaptations were laughably poor. Even Tom Hanks couldn’t salvage Akiva Goldsman’s mediocre screenplays. (Though this is hardly surprising given that Goldsman also wrote the screenplay for Batman & Robin.)

However, Robert Langdon’s adventures are ripe for television due to the amount of twists and turns in the plot, many of which would make for great cliffhangers at the end of each episode.

Another key issue with the movies was that they felt rushed and convoluted. Though Brown’s novels are page-turners, they’re also great at building tension, something that the adaptations failed to do. A television show, on the other hand, would have been an ideal way of bringing this suspense to the screen.