He showed!
And we don't just mean Steven Spielberg, who made his first-ever San Diego Comic-Con appearance today, at Paramount's The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn panel.
No, when the super packed crowd in Hall H rose to greet the revered Oscar winner, their standing ovation was for surprise guest Peter Jackson! (And earlier for Spielberg, of course.)
The rascally New Zealander, though, had already offered his apologies to fans anxious for the lack of Hobbit scoop, saying he had to skip this year's con.
But then he goes and joins his Tintin cocaptain today, and even offered a bit of scoop from Middle-earth:
But first, it was all about Tintin, and we must say, the 3-D motion-capture-advancing action adventure looks great.
After the thrilled standing-O that greeted Spielberg, the director (who's taking the reins on the first Tintin, with Jackson supposed to take the second) offered up a so-called test clip, with Jackson trying out for the role of Capt. Haddock.
Well, Daniel Craig got the part, but we think Jackson could have played the swarthy booze-swiller just as well.
Spielberg then recounted his and Jackson's first meeting: handing the Hobbitmaster his Academy Award for The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.
"Aside from my best friend, George Lucas, this is the best collaboration I've ever had," Spielberg said. "From the beginning of the screenplay process, to the approval of all the shots ongoing right now. This has been such a wonderful treat for me.
"It's just like working with your brother, very, very easy.
OK, super. Now Peter Jackson, what about The Hobbit?!
"The Hobbit? What's that again?," Jackson told the crowd. "It's great. Has anybody seen the latest blog? I'm having a hell of a time. The delightful thing is I'm enjoying it way, way more than I ever thought I would. We're having a blast. It's an interesting way to make a movie like that. We resume shooting in three weeks' time, we've got about 200 (days) to go."