Exclusive: Tintin 2 Details, "I'm not sure I'd put too much money on [Calculus Affair]"

Last month, Stormbreaker author and Tintin 2 screenwriter, Anthony Horowitz, told this blog on Twitter, that, in Tintin 2 "You can expect to meet Cuthbert Calculus." This sparked some debate and consideration as to what books the sequel to last year's hit would be based on.

At the time I theorised an adaptation of one of the later Tintin books, the Calculus-centric, The Calculus Affair. Since then my idea expanded somewhat; I thought perhaps a combination of this and Red Rackham's Treasure - which the first film drew from slightly. However, when I proposed my theory on Twitter, Horowitz replied "I'm not sure I'd put too much money on that."

A double bluff? Maybe. But it certainly sparks more thought on the matter. Assuming that Horowitz isn't trying to throw us off the scent, we now know what Tintin 2 isn't based on. Horowitz also told BBC a while back "I think the second film is not going to be Prisoners of the Sun", adding though that "The good news is if [Prisoners Of The Sun] is not the second film it'll be the third film so actually I could end up with two Tintins under my belt."

So, given that that effectively rules out 3 books, and rule out also The Crab with the Golden Claws and Secret of the Unicorn - on which the first film was based - and factor in that, in the first film, Tintin's walls were adorned by newspaper clippings touting his previous success in various adventures, adventures that happened in Tintin in the Congo/Tintin in America, Cigars of the Pharoh, The Broken Ear and King Ottokar's Sceptre, then we have a reduced list of 15 books. Add to that that it's unlikely to be the rudimentary and oft-called insensitive Land of the Soviets or the unfinished Alpha-Art, and we're down to 13.

The Calculus Affair does seem somewhat unlikely in retrospect; why would Tintin and Captain Haddock (particularly Haddock) risk their lives to help save someone they barely knew? So, what are we left with? I discussed this with friend of the blog and our resident Tintin consultant, Damien, on Twitter, and we're in agreement that it still seems likely Red Rackham's Treasure - or elements of it - will be used. It's such a good introduction for the character, that it makes a lot of sense to borrow from it. The Moon books seem a little sci-fi-esque and too far removed from the first film to be fitting, and after the controversy surrounding Indiana Jones 4, it seems unlikely Steven Spielberg would opt for the alien infused Flight 714 - although elements of that could also be effectively used.

Peter Jackson (Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit), co-producer of The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn and director of Tintin 2, said several times that The Black Island was one of his favourite Tintin adventures, so that is a strong possibility. But, the crux of this is: although we now have a better idea of what the film might be (or at least might not be) we're still a way off knowing for sure.

Tintin 2 is tentatively scheduled for release in 2014/2015.

UPDATE:

Damien pointed out that there is a newspaper clipping referencing The Black Island in the first film, so that probably rules that out as well.

And then there were 12...