Howard defends 'Angels and Demons'

Filmmaker Ron Howard has defended Angels and Demons, the controversial sequel to The Da Vinci Code, insisting that even the most devout believers will enjoy the "exciting mystery".

Tom Hanks returns as the enigmatic codebreaker professor Robert Langdon in the prequel to the 2006 blockbuster.

The film, which is an adaptation of Dan Brown's novel, has come under fire from Catholic leaders who claimed that the movie attacked the core beliefs of the Christian faith, Contactmusic reported.

The Vatican went on to show their distaste for the project by refusing permission for the follow-up to be shot in Rome's churches last year, the website reported.

The church officials had hinted in the Vatican's official newspaper that religious leaders "cannot approve" the movie.

But Howard has defended his ambitious project, saying that the film should be seen as an "exciting mystery" and not as a smear against Catholicism.

"Let me be clear: Neither I nor Angels & Demons are anti-Catholic. And let me be a little controversial: I believe Catholics, including most in the hierarchy of the Church, will
enjoy the movie for what it is: an exciting mystery, set in the awe-inspiring beauty of Rome,"  Howard wrote in his blog for The Huffington Post.

The film is slated to release in May.