Spielberg hands Jackson 'Tintin' reins

Steven Spielberg has handed his Tintin film over to Peter Jackson, says Variety.

The pair had agreed to each direct a movie based on Hergé's cartoon creation, though plans for a trilogy have reportedly been sidelined for now in favour of completing the first outing.

Spielberg has finished 32 days' work on the motion-capture blockbuster in Los Angeles and will allow producer Jackson to complete work on the film. It is believed that Spielberg will retain a sole director credit.

"It's hard to delineate between directing and producing on films like this," an insider said.

Producer Kathleen Kennedy added that the creative switch is not problematic, saying: "They are amazingly collaborative, even more so than Steven and George [Lucas were on the Indiana Jones films]."

The Adventures Of Tintin: The Secret Of The Unicorn, starring Jamie Bell, Daniel Craig, Andy Serkis, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, is scheduled for release in 2011.