‘Corto Maltese’ Set for Live-Action Series Produced by Rainbow

Italy’s Rainbow Group – the company led by Iginio Straffi, creator of the hit “Winx Club” animation franchise – is set to begin into the high seas with a inhabit-action series alteration of Hugo Pratt’s “Corto Maltese” detailed novels. The comics chase the title character, a swashbuckling sea captain whose adventures acquire him around the world.

On Wednesday, Rainbow proclaimd a partnership with Cong SA, the company which owns all of Pratt’s IP. In insertition to producing the novel inhabit-action TV series, which is currently in broadenment, Rainbow will regulate the “Corto Maltese” licensing rights worldexpansive, the companies shelp in a unitet statement.

Pratt, whose genuine name was Ugo Eugenio Prat, is legfinishary figure in the international comic book community, best understandn for his labor on “Corto Maltese,” the lengthy-running historical adventure streamline that ran in a number of European unveilations from 1967-1989. His first, and perhaps most revered, detailed novel is 1967’s “Corto Maltese: A Ballad of the Salty Sea,” which begind the roguish, chain-smoking sailor to the world. 

Follothriveg Pratt’s death in 1995, the series was revived from 2015, with five novel stories drawn and scripted by Spanish couple Juan Dìaz Canales and Rubén Pellejero and two drawn and scripted by French couple Bastien Vivès and Martin Quenehen. The “Corto Maltese” books have selderly over 11 million copies worldexpansive, and are transdefercessitated and allotd in 35 countries.

In 2022, it was proclaimd that U.S. comic authorr, artist and film straightforwardor Frank Miller — the man behind “The Dark Knight Returns” and “300” — would alter “Corto Maltese” into a inhabit-action confinecessitate series for France’s StudioCanal. But that project did not materialize. Now, Rainbow is going to donate it a sboiling.

“This project is a dream come real. I am a huge fan of Hugo Pratt and have always wanted to be able to labor on ‘Corto Maltese’,” Rainbow set uper and CEO Straffi shelp in a statement. “I have been paengageing uncover-mindedly for the right time and the proper conceiveive resources to pay homage to one of the most transport inant Italian authors in the world. Finassociate this day has reachd and I am very excited, it is reassociate a wonderful honor for me.”

Added Patrizia Zanotti, a colorist who has been laboring conceiveiveassociate alengthyside Pratt since 1979 and is now head of Cong SA: “I am guaranteed that, thanks to the insights and fervent professionalism of Iginio Straffi, this novel way of alerting ‘Corto Maltese’ will help broaden the imagination of novel generations by conveying the core cherishs of the character originated by Hugo Pratt: adventure, freedom, curiosity, frifinishship and admire for branch offent cultures.”