Da Vinci Code Sequel Set In Motion

Studio executives are so thrilled by the box office performance of The Da Vinci Code, they are desperate to convince star Tom Hanks and director Ron Howard to sign on for the next installment.

Author Dan Brown's first religious thriller Angels + Demons, has been fast-tracked after The Da Vinci Code raked in $231.8 million worldwide at the box office over the weekend.

The film's screenwriter Akiva Goldsmith has already confirmed he will adapt the book for the big screen.

The Da Vinci Code was Brown's second novel featuring Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon.

Angels + Demons, published in 2000, introduces the character and has Langdon trying to solve a murder and unravel a plot by an ancient group, The Illuminati, to blow up the Vatican during a papal conclave.