Columbia Pictures has hired Steven Knight (Eastern Promises) to adapt author Dan Brown’s Da Vinci Code sequel The Lost Symbol for the big screen. The Lost Symbol, which sold 1.6 million copies on its first day of release, was 2009’s best-selling book, according to Nielsen Bookscan.

In case you missed a book club meeting or two, here’s the synopsis:

Set within the hidden chambers, tunnels, and temples of Washington, D.C., The Lost Symbol accelerates through a startling landscape toward an unthinkable finale.

As the story opens, Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon is summoned unexpectedly to deliver an evening lecture in the U.S. Capitol Building. Within minutes of his arrival, however, the night takes a bizarre turn. A disturbing object–artfully encoded with five symbols–is discovered in the Capitol Building. Langdon recognizes the object as an ancient invitation . . . one meant to usher its recipient into a long-lost world of esoteric wisdom.

When Langdon’s beloved mentor, Peter Solomon–a prominent Mason and philanthropist–is brutally kidnapped, Langdon realizes his only hope of saving Peter is to accept this mystical invitation and follow wherever it leads him. Langdon is instantly plunged into a clandestine world of Masonic secrets, hidden history, and never-before-seen locations–all of which seem to be dragging him toward a single, inconceivable truth.

Columbia Pictures’ adaptations of Brown’s The Da Vinci Code and Angels & Demons have earned over $1.24 billion in worldwide gross. No word yet on whether director Ron Howard and actor Tom Hanks will return to the franchise.

Personally, I’m looking forward to a Lost Symbol movie. I’ve enjoyed Brown’s books and Howard’s film adaptations. And, I especially enjoyed Hustler Video’s The Da Vinci Load and its sequel The Da Vinci Load 2: Angels & Semen (hey, don’t hate me cause I’m an intellectual).