Peter Jackson has officially announced that his next directorial project will be the long-awaited sequel to the animated film 'The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn' (2011). The announcement was made during the honorary award ceremony at the Sitges Film Festival, where the New Zealand filmmaker received an award for his contribution to cinema. Jackson specified that the script for the second installment is already fully written, but filming will only begin after he completes his production work on the new projects set in the 'Lord of the Rings' universe, which he is currently actively working on.
Script is Ready, but Timing Depends on 'Ring' Projects
According to Jackson, work on the sequel's script is complete, and the team is simply waiting for the director to become free from his current commitments. In recent years, Jackson has served as a producer for several new films based on J.R.R. Tolkien's trilogy, which has effectively delayed the start of Tintin's production indefinitely. The official start date for filming and the overall production schedule have not yet been disclosed by either the studio or the director himself.
Steven Spielberg and the 'Role Swap': How it Was Conceived
The original plan, discussed as early as the development stage of the first installment, assumed that Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson would swap roles for the sequel: Jackson would take the director's chair, and Spielberg would serve as producer. This exact concept formed the basis of today's announcement. Thus, the sequel will not just be a continuation of the story, but the realization of a creative exchange originally conceived between the two filmmakers who jointly stood at the origins of the franchise.
370 Million and 15 Years of Waiting
The original 'The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn' (2011) grossed over $370 million worldwide, making the project commercially successful and paving the way for a continuation. However, the production of the sequel has dragged on for 15 years—from the premiere of the first part to Jackson's confirmation today. During this time, the franchise effectively 'froze', and viewer anticipation turned into one of the longest breaks in the history of animated cinema.
Which Comics Will Form the Basis of the New Film
It is expected that the new animated film will adapt the plots of two classic Hergé comics: 'The Seven Crystal Balls' and 'Prisoners of the Sun'. In the original manga, Tintin and Captain Haddock investigate the kidnapping of Professor Calculus and his dog Snowy, and also encounter the mysterious 'Black Hand' society. These stories, according to the creators' intentions, are to form the basis for the continued adventures of the young journalist and his faithful companion.
Currently, neither the studio nor the director has announced specific release dates. Audiences who have been waiting for Tintin's return to the screens for more than a decade and a half now know that the project is truly moving forward, but the exact release date remains an open question until Jackson's producer obligations for the Middle-earth universe are completed.
