StudioCanal has confirmed that they are currently developing Paddington 3. The first two installments were international box office hits, so the third movie is not much of a surprise. That said, it’s been quite a while since we’ve heard official news about one of the world’s favorite bears. Franchise star Hugh Bonneville recently said there was “forward momentum” in the sequel, and that it was “somewhere on the horizon,” but he had no other information about it.
Variety was the first to announce the Paddington 3 news. “We can confirm that StudioCanal is working very hard on film 3 with the utmost craftsmanship and care, as with films 1 and 2,” the studio said in a statement to the outlet today. No details of the story have been revealed, but it has been confirmed that Paul King, who directed the first two installments, will not be behind the camera this time.
Paul King will continue to serve as producer on Paddington 3 and says that working on the previous two films is “one of the great pleasures of my life.” He continued and added: “At some point, you just have to stop. It might be time someone else put a spin on it … I’m trying not to do a third bear movie, which is huge, a big mistake.” Instead of Paddington 3, King is currently working on Wonka, which will serve as the origin story. The film is based on a script by Steven Rich.
The first two Paddington movie stars Hugh Bonneville, Sally Hawkins, Madeleine Harris, Samuel Joslin, Julie Walters, Peter Capaldi, Jim Broadbent, Imelda Staunton, and Michael Gambon. Ben Whishaw provided the voice for the beloved CGI bear and told EW in 2018 that he was back for Paddington 3Although he had reservations about not having Paul King behind the camera. Whishaw said “I can’t imagine what it would be like” to do a Paddington project without the director. “I love doing Paddington,” he said at the time. “It takes a long time, and each time I’ve done it, it has taken me the better part of a year. But … I would love to do another.”
While Paddington 3 has been officially announced, it will likely be a while before we can all see it. StudioCanal didn’t reveal how far along they are in the development process, which probably means it’s still in the pre-production phase. Hopefully, we will have an announcement from the director, followed by a cast reveal by the end of the year. Until then, fans will just have to be happy to learn that the long-awaited third installment is officially happening. Variety was the first to announce the Paddington 3 development news.
Topics: Paddington 3, Paddington
Reference-movieweb.com
