New images from Steven Spielberg’s highly anticipated The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn. The photos come via Empire Magazine who were to first to release a handful of images last week. There are a few new shots, one of which gives us our first look at the Thom(p)son twins (played by Simon Pegg and Nick Frost) and the thief Silk (Toby Jones) and the mysterious Barnaby (Joe Starr).  The film is produced by Peter Jackson and is the first in a planned trilogy.

Tintin stars Bell in the titular role, along with Daniel Craig as Red Rackham, Gad Elmaleh and Mackenzie Crook. The motion picture was filmed utilizing 3D motion capture. Tintin was created by Georges Remi, or “Herge” as he is known by fans. The film adaptation is set for release December 2011. Hit the jump for a brief synopsis.

Here’s the synopsis:

Tintin and his friends discover directions to a sunken ship commanded by Capt. Haddock's ancestor and go off on a treasure hunt.

These new pictures are enough to get me fired up for this movie. While not a devout Tintin fan, I remember watching the cartoon series (1991-1992) way back when I was a wee lad, and thoroughly enjoying it.

Spielberg’s take looks promising, offering mystery, adventure and some nifty computer FX to bring the character to life. Check out the shot with Tintin pointing a gun at Barnaby. The lighting, the dark shadows, the camera angle – classic Spielberg.

I must say I was extremely disappointed with Indy 4 – with Tintin, War Horse and the recently announced Robopocalypse, I may yet forgive The Beard for his past sins.

Here are the pics (via Omelete and Empire):