This has been a project begging to happen. The Dan Brown novel has been the biggest thing to galvanise audiences worldwide since the J K Rowling books, giving a massive fillip to airplane fiction.

Award-winning director-writer duo Ron Howard and Akiva Goldsman, previous collaborators on A Beautiful Mind, promise an anticipated 2005 release.

A-list casting choices abound, the frontrunners for the Robert Langdon lead being Russell Crowe, George Clooney, Hugh Jackman and Tom Hanks. This one has summer hit written all over it, and definite international success.