‘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 launch into the high seas with a live-action series adaptation of Hugo Pratt’s “Corto Maltese” graphic novels. The comics follow the title character, a swashbuckling sea captain whose adventures take him around the world.

On Wednesday, Rainbow announced a partnership with Cong SA, the company which owns all of Pratt’s IP. In addition to producing the new live-action TV series, which is currently in development, Rainbow will manage the “Corto Maltese” licensing rights worldwide, the companies said in a joint statement.

Pratt, whose real name was Ugo Eugenio Prat, is legendary figure in the international comic book community, best known for his work on “Corto Maltese,” the long-running historical adventure strip that ran in a number of European publications from 1967-1989. His first, and perhaps most revered, graphic novel is 1967’s “Corto Maltese: A Ballad of the Salty Sea,” which introduced the roguish, chain-smoking sailor to the world. 

Following Pratt’s death in 1995, the series was revived from 2015, with five new 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 sold over 11 million copies worldwide, and are translated and distributed in 35 countries.

In 2022, it was announced that U.S. comic writer, artist and film director Frank Miller — the man behind “The Dark Knight Returns” and “300” — would adapt “Corto Maltese” into a live-action limited series for France’s StudioCanal. But that project did not materialize. Now, Rainbow is going to give it a shot.

“This project is a dream come true. I am a huge fan of Hugo Pratt and have always wanted to be able to work on ‘Corto Maltese’,” Rainbow founder and CEO Straffi said in a statement. “I have been waiting patiently for the right time and the proper artistic resources to pay homage to one of the most important Italian authors in the world. Finally this day has arrived and I am very excited, it is really a great honor for me.”

Added Patrizia Zanotti, a colorist who has been working artistically alongside Pratt since 1979 and is now head of Cong SA: “I am convinced that, thanks to the insights and passionate professionalism of Iginio Straffi, this new way of telling ‘Corto Maltese’ will help expand the imagination of new generations by conveying the core values of the character created by Hugo Pratt: adventure, freedom, curiosity, friendship and respect for different cultures.”