After helping turn the Winx Club franchise into a global phenomenon, Italian studio Rainbow Group is putting their stamp on a beloved graphic novel series. On Wednesday, it was announced that the company will be shepherding a live-action television adaptation of Corto Maltese, the series of comic strips and graphic novels from Hugo Pratt. This live-action adaptation is part of a partnership between Rainbow and the company Cong SA, which owns the IP for Pratt’s work. In addition to the live-action Corto Maltese television series, Rainbow will now manage the licensing rights.
“This project is a dream come true. I am a huge fan of Hugo Pratt and have always wanted to be able to work on Corto Maltese,” Rainbow founder and CEO Iginio Straffi said in a statement (via Variety). “I have been waiting patiently for the right time and the proper artistic resources to pay homage to one of the most important Italian authors in the world. Finally this day has arrived and I am very excited, it is really a great honor for me.”
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Created by Pratt in 1967, the Corto Maltese series follows the exploits of its titular sea captain, who embarks on a series of adventures in the early 20th century. Across his exploits, he meets a menagerie of real-life figures and other fictional characters, and is present at various historical events. In total, the original run of Corto Maltese has been collected in twelve graphic novels, with the series being rebooted twice, first by Ruben Pellejero and Juan Díaz Canales in 2015, and Martin Quenehen and Bastien Vivès in 2021.
This new effort from Rainbow Group will be the latest attempt to adapt Corto Maltese into another medium. In addition to various French animated shorts, an opera adaptation titled Corto Maltese: The Ballad of the Salty Sea premiered in 2018. There were previous plans for a film adaptation starring Tom Hughes and Milla Jovovich, only for the project to be cancelled due to legal issues. More recently, The Dark Knight Returns and 300 comic creator Frank Miller had planned to adapt Corto Maltese into a six-episode television series alongside StudioCanal, but that project never came to fruition.
This comes as the aforementioned Winx Club franchise recently crossed over into live-action with the YA fantasy series Fate: The Winx Saga. The series was officially cancelled by Netflix in the fall of 2022, but Straffi indicated that there are plans for even more Winx Club stories on the horizon, including a big-budget movie.
“Fate has been an exciting adventure, a great achievement, and a hit watched by millions globally, re-confirming the power of the Winx world. I am working on many exciting Winx projects in the near future, some of which I take so much joy in sharing with you,” Straffi wrote in his post. “First off — a brand new CG Winx animated series reboot is going into production. Yes, a reboot that I promise to sweep you back into the Winx world. Stay tuned to know more about it and where to find it. The second piece of news is about my long-time dream to produce a big budget Winx movie that all of you deserve. For all the love you have given to Winx, I am working hard hoping to bring you a top-quality movie where you can embrace the Winx world, embracing once again all the core values of what this iconic brand has meant for you.”