The movie which will reportedly earn Tom Hanks the biggest wage ever given to a Hollywood movie star Angels & Demons will begin filming in February with a Christmas 2008 release planned.
Sony have quickly scrambled the movie together to beat the strike according to
Variety and if it's even half as successful as
The Da Vinci Code ($758 million worldwide) then it will be a huge money maker for the studio, but of course it's a tougher sell now than the first time around because... A) The Da Vinci Code was ok but nothing spectacular. I'm guessing that there isn't a huge want for a sequel from the majority of people who saw it. B) The Da Vinci Code is no longer being read by everyone & his dog with the book no longer topping the best seller charts, so author Dan Brown is out of the limelight at the mo with no new book released in years. C) Most importanly, Angels & Demons doesn't have any hype. I'm betting probably 20-25% (and that might be a little high in truth) that read The Da Vinci Code even known this book's title, let alone the few that have actually read it. The curiosirty factor will not be as present here. Of course, Angels & Demons was released in 2000, three years before The Da Vinci Code... but in this movie series it will either be a direct sequel.. or an
Indiana Jones-esque stand alone movie.
Having read the book, it pretty much plays out the same way as The Da Vinci Code just with different character names and a differnet mystery. This one follows a terroist plot on the Vatican and is set out to make us question whether we should trust relegion, and those who preach their faith. One big difference in this novel to The Da Vinci Code is that Tom Hanks will have a much closer relationship with his female sidekick, who is yet to be cast. Indeed, only Tom Hanks is on board as of right now... with no-one else expected to return from the first movie.
The Dark Knight, Indiana Jones, Angels & Demons, Star Trek, Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Harry Potter 6, The Mummy 3 and many more huge flicks in 2008. It feels like each year there are more and more huge epics... not all will make the money they hope. I have a feeling this one might struggle.