Between films based on The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, Peter Jackson was supposed to travel to another distant land: Brussels. In 2011, he produced The Adventures of Tintin, a motion-capture adventure based on the classic comics by Hergé. Steven Spielberg directed, and the plan was for the filmmakers to flip roles on a sequel: Jackson would direct, and Spielberg would produce. That didn’t happen.
Fast-forward 15 years, and this week, a few hours away from Tintin’s country of origin, Peter Jackson finally revealed he’s once again working on the franchise. “I’ve been working with Fran [Walsh] on another Tintin script, I was writing it in the hotel room here,” Jackson said at the Cannes Film Festival. “It’s an active real thing, and I’m getting back into the Tintin world, and I actually love it.” Here’s some video.
Peter Jackson reveals at #Cannes that he is working on a new "Adventures of Tintin" movie.
He's currently writing the script and plans to direct the movie himself. He was working on the screenplay while attending the festival. pic.twitter.com/mZx805loib
— Variety (@Variety) May 13, 2026
In the clip, Jackson also reveals he feels a little guilty not making good on the promise he and Spielberg made to fans. “The deal was that Steven directs one and I direct another,” said Jackson. “Steven did his film, then for 15 years, I haven’t made mine. I feel very awkward about that.”
Not that Jackson has been quiet in that time. He made three Hobbit movies and directed a few documentaries. Plus, it’s not like anyone outside of Spielberg or Jackson’s fans were clamoring for Tintin 2: Electric Boogaloo (Our title idea. Think about it, PJ.) At the time of its release, the Spielberg movie grossed about $374 million worldwide. Which isn’t bad, but isn’t quite “Let’s make this sequel ASAP” money, especially with a budget rumored to be around $135 million.
In the years since, though, one has to assume that the cost to do the type of performance capture and animation required to bring these characters back has become, if not cheaper, at least easier. So, hopefully, Jackson and Walsh will finish a story that makes Hollywood excited to return to Tintin.
As Jackson is currently writing, there’s no specific timeline for the film. There’s also no guarantee it would be Jackson’s next movie. He currently isn’t attached to direct anything in particular, besides having two Lord of the Rings movies to produce. So maybe, just maybe, we next see Jackson behind the camera for a feature film with this long-awaited sequel.
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