Tintin 2 is not dead yet. This according to Steven Spielberg, who made his animated feature film debut directing the 2011 motion-capture film The Adventures of Tintin. The film was produced by Peter Jackson, and the plan was for the two filmmakers to swap roles on the sequel, with Jackson directing and Spielberg producing. That plan was put somewhat in doubt when Tintin manage only $77.5 million at the domestic box office, although it did score over $373 million worldwide. That put it in the middle spot of not being a guaranteed franchise, but also not entirely ruling out a sequel.

As Jackson busied himself with The Hobbit trilogy it became unclear when Tintin 2 would ever happen, and when Jackson finished those films and still didn’t move on to the sequel, it began to feel like the sequel was a lost cause. But in June 2016, Spielberg said Jackson was working on a secret film for his company and then after that he’d do Tintin 2. Now, nearly two years later, that secret film has yet to materialize, but Spielberg still maintains the sequel is happening.

Speaking with Premiere France (via The Playlist), Spielberg said Tintin 2 is still alive:

“Peter Jackson has to do the second part,” he said. “Normally, if all goes well, he will soon start working on the script. As it takes two years of animation work on the film, I wouldn’t expect to see it be released for at least another three years. But Peter will stick with it. Tintin is not dead!”

So if Tintin 2 does actually happen, we won’t see it until 2021—a full decade after the first film. However, since these movies are performance-capture the length of time between films doesn’t really matter to the actors. But is the audience still hungry for more Tintin after the so-so result of the first movie? I suppose we’ll find out.