While the name Tintin may be unfamiliar to some on American shores, the character is among the most iconic and beloved comic book characters ever introduced. Originally created by Belgian cartoonist Georges Remi, aka Herge, Tintin has gone on to become one of the most well-known characters of all time, especially in Europe and parts of Asia where his popularity is nearly unparalleled.
Banking on that popularity, Spielberg and Jackson have teamed up to create a trilogy of motion capture 3D movies based on the character starring some of the best actors that you may not recognize.
The first of the proposed trilogy, The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn, stars Jamie Bell (The Eagle, Jane Eyre) as Tintin, a young adventurer. He soon meets Captain Haddock (Andy Serkis), and the pair are joined by an escaped convict, who is being hunted by Detectives Thomson and Thomson (Simon Pegg and Nick Frost), and they also face a pirate attack by Red Rackham (Daniel Craig). The film combines the stories: The Crab with the Golden Claws, The Secret of the Unicorn and Red Rackham’s Treasure.
Many of those character and story names may be unfamiliar to current audiences, especially in America, which is why Spielberg and Jackson brought in Steven Moffat (Doctor Who’s current showrunner) to write the script. When the writer’s strike slowed Moffat’s work, and then work on Doctor Who eventually took him away from the movie, writer/director Edgar Wright (Hot Fuzz, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World) and English comedian Joe Cornish were brought in to help with rewrites.
Spielberg and Jackson currently have a deal in place with Sony to produce two Tintin films, and the third will be dependent on the box office results. Look for The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn on December 23.
