Corto Maltese in live-action: an Italian series is being prepared

The sailor imagined by Hugo Pratt 60 years ago could finally be available in the flesh.

Many of them have broken their teeth on Corto Maltese. in recent years, the BD sailor has been approached by Christopher Gans for a film (in 2019) ultimately abandoned. Some time later, it is Frank Miller who was to release it as a series for Canal Plus, without further success.

New attempt, this time from Italy. The Rainbow group and Iginio Strafficreator of Winx Clubare preparing to embark on a new project Corto Maltese in a live-action series, taken from comics published from 1967 to 1989. A deal was signed with Cong SA, the company which owns all of the intellectual property of Hugo Pratt. In addition to producing the new live-action television series, which is currently in development, Rainbow will now handle the licensing rights Corto Maltese all over the world.

It must be said that Corto Maltese is an Italian hero, imagined by Ugo Eugenio Pratt, known as Hugo Pratt. After the death of the author, in 1995, the series was relaunched from 2015, with five new stories drawn and scripted by the Spanish couple Juan Dìaz Canales and Rubén Pellejero and two drawn and scripted by the French couple Bastien Vivès and Martin Quenehen. The works on the sailor have sold more than 11 million copies worldwide and are translated and distributed in 35 countries.

“This project is a dream come true. I'm a huge fan of Hugo Pratt and always wanted to be able to work on Corto Maltese. I have waited patiently for the right moment and the appropriate artistic resources to pay homage to one of the most important Italian authors in the world. This day has finally arrived and I am very excited” comments Straffi, founder and CEO of Rainbow, in a press release.

We are now waiting to know who will play Corto Maltese in the series… if it sees the light of day.