Don’t Fear, Steven Spielberg Assures Us A TINTIN Sequel Is Near
The Beard has been on a total PR tear lately, in anticipation of his upcoming Ready Player One (which we've seen and, contrary to popular opinion, believe is worth your time). First, he was out in these streets calling Netflix Originals "TV Movies". Now, he's promising a follow-up to his underloved Peter Jackson collaboration, The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn.
"Great snakes!" you shout in response. "But the first Tintin didn't make any money!" Well, in America it underperformed (grossing only $77 million). Yet globally, the picture pulled in nearly $375 mil. That's more than enough to make a profit on its $135 million budget and justify a sequel (plus, if Pacific Rim can be deemed a success and earn a follow-up, anything can).
Though there's been little movement on a sequel since the movie was released in 2011, Spielberg promises (via an interview with Premiere) that it is still in the works on Jackson's end:
"Peter Jackson has to do the second part. Normally, if all goes well, he will soon start working on the script. As it takes two years of animation work on the film, for you, I would not expect to see it for about three years. But Peter will stick to it. Tintin is not dead!”
What's funny is that a release date three years from now would make for almost a complete decade between movies, which is a strange release strategy for a franchise that didn't exactly set the world on fire in the first place. However, having already seen Spielberg's Ready Player One - which is almost as much an animated feature as Tintin is - it makes sense that the director would still be interested in seeing the further exploits of the boy adventurer brought to life.
Obviously, this is all very much still in the earliest stages, but if Spielberg says something is happening, he usually sticks to his word. Plus, he's been incredibly productive as of late, so even if Jackson is directing, the "get up and get 'em!" attitude he's developed in his old age should move things along quite well.
Here's to hoping, as The Secret of the Unicorn is so damn fun.
