Peter Jackson Is Finally Making His ‘Tintin’ Movie After Over a Decade of False Starts

Few animated adventure films from the last two decades have held such a devoted following as ‘The Adventures of Tintin’. Released in 2011 and directed by Steven Spielberg, the motion-capture epic starred Jamie Bell, Andy Serkis, and Daniel Craig, bringing Belgian cartoonist Hergé’s iconic boy reporter and his loyal terrier Snowy to cinemas worldwide. The film grossed $374 million against a $135 million budget and became the first motion-captured animated film to win the Golden Globe Award for Best Animated Feature Film.

From the moment it hit screens, a sequel was always part of the plan. Almost from the start, Spielberg and Peter Jackson talked about the film as the first entry in a planned trilogy based on Hergé’s classic comic book series, with Jackson set to direct the follow-up after completing ‘The Hobbit’. Development on the sequel reportedly started in 2012 with a projected release between 2014 and 2015, but the production delays proved far beyond anything typical for a high-profile animated franchise.

Then came Cannes. Jackson conducted a high-profile masterclass at the Debussy Theatre as part of the “Rendez-vous at the Festival de Cannes” conversation series, the morning after collecting an honorary Palme d’Or from ‘Lord of the Rings’ star Elijah Wood at the festival’s opening ceremony. It was there that he delivered the most concrete update fans have received in years, confirming the new film is actively in motion. Jackson revealed he has recently completed the script, which he had been working on in his hotel room while attending the festival.

Speaking to the audience, Jackson offered a candid and enthusiastic account of where things stand. He told the crowd, “I’ve been working with Fran [Walsh] on another Tintin script. It’s an active real thing, and I’m getting back into the Tintin world, and I actually love it.” He also addressed the lengthy gap since the original with notable self-awareness, acknowledging the arrangement he and Spielberg had long agreed upon and saying he felt genuinely uncomfortable about how many years had passed without delivering on his end of it.

The sequel is expected to draw from two of Hergé’s most acclaimed stories, ‘The Seven Crystal Balls’ and ‘Prisoners of the Sun’, following Tintin and Captain Haddock as they investigate a series of mysterious afflictions that befall explorers who disturbed an ancient Incan tomb, before the trail eventually leads them to South America. The 2011 film used a similar approach, adapting three separate comic books into a single narrative.

Both Jamie Bell and Andy Serkis have been reported as expected to reprise their respective roles as Tintin and Captain Haddock in the sequel. The return of Jackson himself to the director’s chair carries its own significance. His last narrative feature was ‘The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies’ in 2014, making this his first return to scripted filmmaking in over twelve years.

With a completed script in hand, a clear directorial commitment, and the cultural weight of a Cannes Palme d’Or moment behind him, Jackson finally appears ready to close the chapter that has been left open since 2011. Whether you have been waiting fifteen years for Captain Haddock to return or you are coming to this news fresh, share your thoughts below on which Hergé story you are most hoping Jackson brings to life.