The Sequel To The Adventures Of Tintin Has A Script, Now Waiting On Peter Jackson

It’s been over two years since the release of The Adventures of Tintin, the very successful adaptation of the comic book series by Belgian cartoonist Hergé, which was produced by Peter Jackson and directed by Steven Spielberg. Seeing as the film was a critical success with nearly $400 million at the worldwide box office, a sequel was always in the works with Jackson and Spielberg trading roles. But since the release of the original in December of 2011, we haven’t heard much talk about the follow-up. Now, it appears as if things may be moving forward with news that a completed script for a Tintin sequel is ready and just waiting for Jackson.

In a conversation with the Daily Mail, prolific English novelist and screenwriter Anthony Horowitz (Alex Rider, Foyle’s War) mentioned his work on The Adventures of Tintin. “I’ve just finished writing the new Tintin film for Steven Spielberg,” he said.

Horowitz was hired to pen the sequel even before the first film was released. The original was written by the screenwriting dream team of Steven Moffat (Sherlock), Edgar Wright (The World’s End) and Joe Cornish (Attack the Block). There’s no word on what this new Tintin might be about, but the first film combined three Tintin stories, including The Crab with the Golden Claws (1941), The Secret of the Unicorn (1943), and Red Rackham’s Treasure (1944).

The hold-up on a new Tintin movie now is Peter Jackson’s schedule. Obviously, the filmmaker is preoccupied with finishing the final chapter of The Hobbit trilogy, which has forced a new Tintin to miss proposed release dates of fall 2014 and summer 2015. Still, Jackson has said that he has every intention of revisiting the world of Tintin again.

“It was held up by The Hobbit but we have every intention of doing another Tintin movie and it’s just waiting on me to be done with these Hobbit movies,” he stated this past December.

While it’s certainly reassuring to hear that the script is complete, I think it’s still going to be quite some time before we see a sequel to The Adventures of Tintin. It’s a shame, too, because the original was a thrilling adventure that left most people wanting more. Even if Jackson does head into production on the Tintin sequel when he finishes The Hobbit like he says he will, it will probably be at least 2016 before the film arrives.

Still, with a script already complete, half the battle is now done and hopefully, it won’t be too long before Jackson gets around to making it.