Originally developed as a film to have starred Tom Hanks as Robert Langdon and to be produced and directed by Ron Howard for Columbia Pictures[5][6] along with the franchise's producers Brian Grazer and John Calley. Between 2010 and 2013 Sony Pictures eventually hired three screenwriters for the project, Steven Knight,[7] Dan Brown himself,[8] and Danny Strong. In July 2013, Sony Pictures announced they would instead adapt Inferno for an October 14, 2016, release[9][10]