‘Paddington 3’ Is Finally Happening
Grab your marmalade sandwiches because the third Paddington film is getting nearer and nearer! It was announced in 2021 that everyone’s favorite coat-wearing ursine would be coming back, and now we have confirmation from the man—I mean bear—himself.
Yep, Paddington 3: Paddington in Peru has finally begun filming! Cue fabulous Hugh Grant dance number.
Which actors are returning for Paddington 3?
Damn you, Ben Whishaw, you gave us all a scare. Earlier this year he told Collider regarding the threequel, “I haven’t read this script and I don’t even know when we’re due to shoot it … I thought it would be happening by now, but I don’t know. It’s gone silent in the way that sometimes these things do. Maybe that just means they’re still working on it, or maybe it means it’s not happening, or you just don’t know.” But don’t worry, he’s probably received the script by now! There’s very little chance he won’t be back as the voice of Paddington Bear.
Hugh Bonneville has strongly implied he’s returning as Henry Brown, since he said during a 2021 appearance on BBC Radio 2’s The Zoe Ball Breakfast Show that a new Paddington film was “on the horizon.” But what about the rest of the Brown family? There’s no confirmation yet, but we can probably assume that Sally Hawkins, Julie Walters, Madeleine Harris, and Samuel Joslin will return. Those last two, who played the young Brown children Judy and Jonathan, are both 21 now, by the way. Perhaps a subplot will see them heading off to college?
Who is directing and writing Paddington 3?
The director of the original two Paddington films, Paul King, won’t be directing this one. (He’s off helming Wonka instead.) That honor has gone to Grammy Award-nominated music video director Dougal Wilson. King will still be involved as executive producer, however.
Speaking with Deadline, King had this to say regarding the handover of directing duties:
“After ten years of working on the Paddington movies, I feel absurdly protective of the little bear, and I’m delighted that Dougal will be there to hold his paw as he embarks on his third big screen adventure. Dougal’s work is never less than astounding: funny, beautiful, heartfelt, imaginative, and totally original. Aunt Lucy once asked us to ‘Please Look After This Bear.’ I know Dougal will do so admirably.”
As for the writing team, the script will be written by Mark Burton, Jon Foster, and James Lamont from a story by Paul King, Simon Farnaby, and Mark Burton. Farnaby, who was a co-writer and cameo star of Paddington 2, told Yahoo! last year: “Paul and I did tentatively write a story for Paddington 3, so we are involved. And I think Paul is involved at an executive level. We did have an idea for it. They’ve got great writers and I think they’ve got a great director, so I think it will be brilliant, but we’re slightly to one side for now.”
What do we know about the plot of Paddington 3?
So far, the plot of Paddington in Peru is wrapped up tighter than the marmalade sandwich Paddington keeps under his hat. The title obviously gives us a major clue, though! Most likely we’ll see Paddington return to the land where he grew up and have an adventure there, probably with the Browns along for the ride.
When will Paddington 3 come out?
According to Deadline, filming starts on July 24, so we can probably expect the movie to drop in 2024 or early 2025. However, both the previous Paddington movies were released in November, so maybe November 2024 is most likely at the moment?
Are there any new people joining Paddington for this movie?
Guess what? Black Widow actress and big marmalade fan Florence Pugh says she would love to work with Paddington. That’s how we got one of the most adorable Twitter exchanges ever! Could it happen? Watch this space!
(featured image: StudioCanal)
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