Netflix has secured one of the year’s most talked-about adaptations, greenlighting a new series built around Dan Brown’s upcoming novel The Secret of Secrets. The project comes with serious firepower: Brown, the mind behind The Da Vinci Code, and Carlton Cuse, the veteran showrunner of Lost and Jack Ryan, are co-writing and executive producing.
This isn’t just another intellectual property pickup, it’s the streamer’s latest high-stakes bet in an increasingly competitive market for big-name adaptations. Netflix reportedly won out in a multi-studio bidding war to snag the rights. That should tell you something.
The series, still untitled, will center on Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon, a character who has become synonymous with cryptic clues and global chases. According to the publisher’s synopsis, the novel sees Langdon “race against ancient forces and time to rescue a missing scientist and her groundbreaking manuscript whose discoveries have the power to forever change humanity’s understanding of the mind.”
In Brown’s words, the book is “by far the most intricately plotted and ambitious book that I have ever written, and I also happen to think that it’s the most fun,” he said when announcing the release date to Doubleday. The Secret of Secrets arrives in stores on September 9.
As reported by Deadline, Emma Forman of Genre-Arts is also executive producing, and Cuse will serve as showrunner. Early staffing is already in motion, suggesting production isn’t far off.
The Langdon franchise isn’t new to screens. Tom Hanks famously took on the role in three Ron Howard-directed films that grossed over $2 billion globally. A short-lived prequel series, The Lost Symbol, aired on Peacock in 2021 with Ashley Zukerman as a younger Langdon.
For Cuse, this is familiar ground. His TV resume includes high-profile adaptations of beloved book franchises—he’s done it before, and done it well. At Netflix, he previously helmed Locke & Key, and he’s currently developing a Star Wars series with his son Nick Cuse.
With a plot that teases mind-expanding discoveries and age-old mysteries, the Langdon series is poised to blend scientific speculation with ancient symbolism. It’s a cocktail that’s worked for Brown before—and Netflix is betting big it still will.
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