Variety is reporting that the French animation studio Xilam is preparing a feature film based on the Gallic comic book hero Lucky Luke, created by Rene Goscinny (Asterix) and Morris (aka Maurice de Bevere).  Xilam, which produced an award-winning Lucky Luke TV series in 2003, is co-producing the $15 million feature with Lucky Luke publisher Dargaud.

The Lucky Luke series of western comedy adventures is wildly popular in Europe where the last volume in the series sold over 1 million copies.  The Lucky Luke feature film, Tous a l'ouest, is based on the Lucky Luke graphic novel, The Caravan and will be released in Europe in the fall of 2007.  The film has already been sold in Germany, Benelux, Eastern Europe, Portugal and Greece.  An English language version is planned but there is no word on when it may be released in the U.S.