SCOTLAND IS poised to play a leading role in the new film franchise devised by Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson to follow their successes with Indiana Jones and Lord Of The Rings. The directors will collaborate on a series of films about Tintin, the intrepid young reporter whose international adventures have charmed generations for 80 years.

The film-makers intend to adapt three of the original 24 comic-strip stories, and movie insiders are hinting that one of them could be The Black Island, which is set in Scotland and even has Tintin swapping his famous plus fours for a kilt.

Tintin author Hergé did meticulous research for his stories and used Castlebay on Barra and Lochranza Castle on Arran as the basis for his fictitious settings in The Black Island.

It is unclear how much filming would be done in Scotland, as the film-makers will employ the "motion capture" technology Jackson used to create Gollum in Lord Of The Rings. The technology turns actors into computerised characters, blurring the line between live action and animation, and would be done in a studio.

Speculation that Scotland will have a major presence in the new Tintin film series has been further fuelled by the franchise's surprise recruitment of Scottish TV writer Steven Moffat, whose Doctor Who episodes impressed Spielberg.

The director reputedly had to use all his persuasive powers to convince Moffat, whose involvement is another possible indication Spielberg and Jackson are looking to Scotland as the setting for one of the films.

Filming on the first instalment is due to start in September but Spielberg's spokesman insists they still have to reach a final decision on stories.

The Tintin stories have been translated into dozens of languages and sold 200 million copies in book form. There were popular TV cartoons in the 1960s and 1990s, but previous attempts at live action and animated feature films have been less successful.

Spielberg has wanted to make a Tintin film for many years and confirmed last year that he and Jackson would produce three Tintin films.

Jackson made a 20-minute test in New Zealand, using motion capture to create computerised characters that were "photo-realistic".

A few further details have since emerged - the three films will be adaptations of the books, not original stories; Spielberg will direct the first film, Jackson the second and they may co-direct the third.

Tintin will be played by Thomas Sangster, the young English star of Love Actually and Nanny McPhee, while Tintin's alcoholic, seafaring companion Captain Haddock will be played by Andy Serkis, who previously provided Jackson a basis for the characters of Gollum and King Kong.

The appointment of Paisley-born writer Moffat was surprising considering he has never scripted a film before. His television work includes Press Gang, Coupling, Jekyll and some of the most acclaimed Doctor Who story lines of the resurrected series.

Moffat has recently been elevated to the position of head writer and executive producer of Doctor Who. Although his agent said he was too busy to talk about Tintin, it is understood he has signed a confidentiality contract.

The films remain shrouded in secrecy. Casting sessions suggest the first film may be The Crab With The Golden Claws - a north African drug-smuggling story - or The Secret Of The Unicorn, which is about pirate treasure. But no one has ruled out The Black Island as one of the three films.

Asked directly if The Black Island was going to be filmed, Gerry Lewis, a senior executive with Spielberg's studio DreamWorks, suggested it could well be in the frame. "There is, at this stage, no final decision about which books will be filmed," he said.

He added that even the identity of the first film was unclear and he could not say whether there would be any filming in Scotland. The motion capture work is likely to be done in the US and a second unit may shoot backgrounds in Scotland, assuming The Black Island is chosen.

The story has similarities to The Thirty-Nine Steps, the thriller written by John Buchan and filmed by Alfred Hitchcock shortly before The Black Island appeared.

Tintin becomes mixed up with dubious foreigners by chance, is suspected of a crime he did not commit, escapes from a train, goes on the run and ends up in Scotland. But The Thirty-Nine Steps did not feature a monster.

The Black Island first appeared as a serial in 1937. It survived various permutations and was completely reworked in the 1960s. Hergé's assistant visited Castlebay and Lochranza, which served as templates for the village of Kiltoch and the island castle Craig Dhui in the revised edition.

The book is currently No 3 in Amazon's list of Tintin best sellers. "It's a really fast-moving story," said Jane Taylor, owner of The Tintin Shop in London's Covent Garden. "All the boys love it."

She thought the Scottish settings would work very well on film. "I can't think of anything more beautiful," she said.