Peter Jackson is actively writing the screenplay for a sequel to Steven Spielberg's 2011 film The Adventures of Tintin, he revealed at the Cannes Film Festival, describing the project as "an active real thing." It would mark his first directing effort since 2015's The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, following a decade spent on documentaries and film technology.
According to IndieWire, Jackson made the disclosure in an interview at Cannes, where he described writing pages from his hotel room and transmitting them across the globe in real time. "Literally, I'm in the hotel room down the road writing the script and sending pages to New Zealand," he said. "I haven't written anything in the last two days because I've been busy, but tomorrow I'll get back to the draft and do some more pages. Fran [Walsh] and I are writing the script, and we'll get a draft done, which we'll send to Steven. He will read it, and he might say that he doesn't like it, and maybe we should do different books," Jackson said, pausing. "I don't think he will. I think he'll have notes for sure, but we'll go backwards and forwards until we have a script that we like."
Jackson said the sequel picks up directly from where the first film left off. He noted the new film will begin "exactly where the last film ends," though he declined to name the specific Tintin books being adapted until a script is finalized and Spielberg has signed off.
The original 2011 Tintin film was directed by Spielberg with Jackson producing. For the sequel, the pair are swapping roles, with Jackson directing and Spielberg producing, an arrangement Jackson said was part of their original agreement.
While that project is still in its writing phase, Jackson is also serving as producer on a much closer release: The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum, directed by Andy Serkis and set for 2027. That film tells the story of Gollum in the period bridging Jackson's Hobbit trilogy and The Lord of the Rings.
To shape the psychological approach to the character, Jackson said he and co-writer Fran Walsh drew inspiration from an unexpected source. "We were thinking about the original 'Joker' film, the one with Joaquin Phoenix," Jackson said. "The way that explored the Joker's psychology while it was telling a story. We've got the story that's in the appendices, and we'll tell that story, but we'll tell it from an internal Gollum perspective. You're taking written things by Tolkien and filming them from a certain POV, and that means you have to get inside his head. I've got no particular desire to get inside Gollum's head," he said, laughing. "Andy Serkis can do that himself."
Serkis, who originated the role of Gollum across Jackson's original trilogies, is both directing and starring in the new film. Jackson said he is content to step back and let Serkis lead.
The Hunt for Gollum is scheduled for release in 2027. No production timeline or release window has yet been confirmed for the Tintin sequel.
