Netflix names new Robert Langdon for Dan Brown reboot, replacing Tom Hanks

Here we go again with Dan Brown's Harvard symbologist, that globe-trotting professor who can crack a secret code faster than most of us can read a bus timetable. After Tom Hanks gave Robert Langdon his trademark befuddled brilliance in the Ron Howard films — The Da Vinci Code, Angels & Demons, and Inferno — and Ashley Zukerman played prequel-era Langdon for a single frankly-forgettable Peacock series, Netflix is having a proper go with a fresh adaptation. And just to keep it spicy, they’re bringing in a brand-new Langdon.

Morgan Spector has officially been tapped as Langdon in Netflix's upcoming series, following a round of negotiations this month.

New Face for the Professor

Morgan Spector — yes, the same chap who’s been swanning around Gilded Age New York as George Russell on HBO — is stepping into Langdon’s sensible shoes for the next outing. He’s taking on the lead in a straight-to-series adaptation of Brown’s 2025 novel, The Secret of Secrets. This latest book only hit shelves last year, and the TV take is being co-created by Brown himself alongside showrunner Carlton Cuse (you’ll know Cuse if you ever lost a week of your life to Lost or Bates Motel).

The show doesn’t bother with a film-to-series handoff — instead, it’s its own thing. We’re told to expect a big eight-hour narrative, with Spector as Langdon legging it round Prague, racing shadowy ancient types to rescue a kidnapped scientist (Katherine Solomon, returning from previous entries) and get his mitts on a manuscript about human consciousness and what comes after death. The series, currently untitled, wants to dig deep into all the usual Brown stuff — secret societies, riddles, conspiracies — but finally has space to make the character more than just a running haircut with a tweed jacket.

Here’s Carlton Cuse’s take on the casting, from his public statement: "Morgan is a truly wonderful actor whose work is always filled with intelligence, thoughtfulness, and humanity. He’s the perfect fit for Robert Langdon — a brilliant academic whose curiosity, intelligence, and intellect are the tools of his trade."

Inside Casting and Familiar Faces

Spector inherits the role from both Hanks and Zukerman, and Netflix is setting this up as a proper Langdon moment — a "propulsive thriller" with a "great love story," to quote Cuse. There’s more: in a bit of potential casting intrigue, Spector’s real-life wife, Rebecca Hall, is rumoured to be up for the role of Solomon, which would add a nice meta twist to the on-screen chemistry. No official word yet, but it could make for an actually believable romance subplot, which is unusual for Brown adaptations if we’re honest.

• Title: The Secret of Secrets
• Released: 2025 (novel), series is incoming — no premiere date yet
• Episodes: Designed as a single eight-hour narrative
• Cast: Morgan Spector (Robert Langdon), Rebecca Hall (rumoured, Katherine Solomon)
• Showrunner: Carlton Cuse, co-created with Dan Brown
• Setting: Prague, with globe-trotting elements and ancient mysteries galore

Netflix are hoping this new version finally gives Langdon — and the endless riddle-hopping — a proper episodic showcase rather than a once-a-decade blockbuster or a short-lived streamer gamble. They seem determined not to let the franchise get stale, and clearly see something worth mining here, especially now there’s fresh material to adapt and a new actor stepping confidently into the lecture hall.