The Adventures of Tintin

Spielberg plans Tintin trilogy

Steven Spielberg is poised to make three movies based on the Belgian cartoon character Tintin.

He plans a trilogy based on six of the classic books including Red Rackham's Treasure and The Blue Lotus reports French magazine Capital.

Ace reporter Tintin travels the world solving mysteries with the help of his friends Captain Haddock, the Thomson Twins and his faithful dog Snowy.

Spielberg has also started pre-production on a fourth Indiana Jones film and is working on an adaptation of James Thurber's story The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty.

Story filed: 13:56 Thursday 15th January 2004

Spielberg Planning Tintin Trilogy?
Comic adaptation might shoot in 2005.

January 14, 2004 - Trilogies are all the rage these days, and a lot of studios are beginning to plan three films instead of one from the outset. That might be the case with Tintin.


Spielberg has reportedly been interested in adapting the comic-book character to film for a long time, and Capital, a French financial magazine, says a trio of films is in the works.

If the report is correct, each film will will be adapted from Tintin stories that spanned two books. The moon adventure is apparently considered too old-fashioned, so good possibilities are: The Secret of the Unicorn and Red Rackham's Treasure; The Seven Crystal Balls and Prisoners of the Sun; and The Blue Lotus plus Tintin in Tibet. The latter pairing was not really one story, so some re-writing might be necessary. Otherwise, it's great to see that they're planning to use author Hergé's material instead of trying to write a new Tintin adventure.

The magazine adds that Spielberg will probably produce and may or may not direct. Production could begin next winter, for a 2006 release. This suggests that the films may be live-action after all, instead of a CG production as has previously been rumored.

Thanks to Dark Horizons for the alert.
-- Paul Davidson