Andy Serkis’ work will probably become immortal, though not many people have ever seen his face on-screen. His performances with Peter Jackson as Gollum in the Lord of the Rings trilogy and as the titular gorilla in King Kong have been widely acclaimed as some of best motion-capture acting ever done. Now he’ll be at it again in Jackson’s movie version of The Adventures of Tin Tin, set to begin shooting next September.

The Tin Tin project is the most fascinating thing Jackson is up to right now (the Lovely Bones adaptation, though it will probably be great, isn’t that groundbreaking). Jackson and Steven Spielberg will each direct an installment of a trilogy about Tin Tin, the hero of the classic Belgian comic strip. There’s no word on who will direct the third film. Variety’s article said DreamWorks wouldn’t say who Serkis will be playing, but ComingSoon.net speculated the role might be Captain Haddock, a temperamental seafarer.

Serkis will be working on all three films, which means Spielberg will also direct him when it’s his turn. This news is, in every possible way, awesome. The mere fact of Spielberg and Jackson teaming upon a project is spectacular, and adding Serkis to the cast indicates that Jackson will be up to the same magic that has made him famous. Tin Tin isn’t really a recognized character here the way that he is in Europe, but his adventures as an intrepid journalist wouldn’t have survived decades if they weren’t worth telling. Spielberg and Jackson are some of the best storytellers working in movies today, and a collaboration betweeen them seems foolproof. Hooray for Hollywood!