A Brief History Of Peter Jackson Not Making That Tintin Sequel He Keeps Promising

Peter Jackson is making waves in France with the news that he is writing a sequel to "The Adventures of Tintin." According to Screen Daily, Jackson said he's actively penning the script with Fran Walsh. "I was writing it in the hotel room here," Jackson announced 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."

This would be incredibly exciting news. 2011's "The Adventures of Tintin," an adaptation of the famous Belgian comic by Hergé, is one of the most unique animated movies of the 21st century. Directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Edgar Wright, "Attack the Block" filmmaker Joe Cornish, and former "Doctor Who" showrunner Steven Moffat, its blend of motion capture and computer animation makes the most of both techniques. "Tintin" also boasts one of the best action scenes that Spielberg has ever directed, and there's still plenty of source material for a sequel to adapt.

And yet, it's been a decade and a half, and still no "Tintin" sequel. How come, chief Jackson? As the filmmaker (who produced the first "Tintin" movie) explained at Cannes, "The deal was that Steven directs one and I direct another. Steven did his film, then for 15 years [later] I haven't made mine. I feel very awkward about that."

Jackson should definitely feel awkward about the delay, because this is far from the first time he's said he's working on a new "Tintin." And every time, the film just doesn't materialize.

Let's go down memory lane and explore how Jackson has continuously delivered false promises about a "Tintin" movie sequel. You know, just in case Jackson sees this and gets so mad he decides to prove us wrong and actually make the film for real.

A sequel to "The Adventures of Tintin" was discussed as soon as the first movie was released. At the time, Peter Jackson said he was going to direct the sequel once he was done with his "Hobbit" films. Meanwhile, producer Kathleen Kennedy promised that the sequel was aiming for a Christmas 2014 or summer 2015 release (via Collider). Of course, that didn't happen, and the years just kept on rolling.

In 2018, we got another update. After Jackson began saying he might no longer direct the movie and would instead just produce it, Steven Spielberg confirmed a "Tintin" sequel was still on the table and reasserted that Jackson has to tackle the second movie.

Then, in 2024, Andy Serkis said that Jackson is definitely still working on the "Tintin" sequel while the former was attending that year's Annecy Animation Film Festival. And yet, here we are. It's been a long road, and still no "Tintin 2." The final "Hobbit" movie remains the last non-documentary feature that Jackson has directed at this point. Sure, he claims he's writing the movie now, but it's starting to feel like "Tintin 2" is to him what "The Winds of Winter" is to George R.R. Martin.

Unfortunately, there's another, heartbreaking reason for the delay — Andrew Lesnie. During an intro made for the recent theatrical re-release of "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King," Jackson admitted that Lesnie's death affected him so much that he's been avoiding working with another cinematographer. It'd be a great shame if we never get another film directed by Jackson, but losing such a close collaborator is an understandable reason to step away. That said, don't make promises you can't keep, Peter! Either give us more "Tintin" or stop teasing.