I have already gone into the explanation about why this Tintin movie trilogy has been so popular before. Tintin is an everyman whose character is something that we can all relate to. His innate sense to do well and find the truth is something that we all relate to from our childhood. Tintin is a European cartoon legend.

There have been 23 adventures written by Herge from 1929 to 1976 sadly with a 24th Tintin and the Alpha-Art incomplete when he died in 1983. Herge specified in his will that there should be no new illustrated adventures after his passing.

On May 15th on what was the week before people were to celebrate what would have been Herge 100th birthday Spielberg and Jackson announced they would be translating three existing Tintin stories to the big screen.

The big question is now which Tintin album will be the first to be turned into a Tintin movie. There has been a lot of talk and it been a closely guarded secret. The buzz has been great and the speculation huge. There are 23 Tintin adventures to choose from and so a lot of possible material to cover.

The album of choice will probably come after 1940 because this is when Herge introduced the much loved character Captain Haddock rumored to be played by Tom Hanks. It is also true that Herge was a lot less political in his stories after the second world war that ended in 1944 (He had worked under Nazi occupation in Belgium writing for a paper).

The most likely source for the Tintin movie will be from the double installment episodes from Herge middle period: the pirate/submarine yarn The Secret of the Unicorn and its sequel Red Rackham's Treasure (1943-44); the Inca Diptych The Seven Crystal Balls and The Prisoner of the Sun (1948-9); and the post-war Destination Moon/Explorers on the Moon (1953-54) where Tintin becomes the first human on the Moon 15 years before Neil Armstrong. Tintin reaches the lunar surface on what looks suspiciously like a V-2 rocket.

The other single volume adventures would at first appear a little too slender to create into a film. It is believed that Spielberg and Jackson have yet to confirm which albums they will work on all though speculation has increased as to who will playing which Tintin role. Rupert Grint (of Harry Potter fame) has been linked to the part of the pesky Walloon reporter. There may though be a few surprises and even Gwyneth Paltrow name has been mentioned more than once.

Whatever happens and we wait with baited breath any announcement will be big news in Hollywood.