‘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 then we finally got confirmation from the man—I mean bear—himself.

Yep, Paddington 3: Paddington in Peru is almost here! Cue fabulous Hugh Grant dance number.

Which actors are returning for Paddington 3?

Damn you, Ben Whishaw, you gave us all a scare. In 2023 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!

As for the Brown family, Hugh Bonneville, Julie Walters, Madeleine Harris and Samuel Joslin are all set to return—but not Sally Hawkins. Yep, it’s a bit of a blow but we’ll just have to grin and Bear it. Mary Brown will now be played by actress Emily Mortimer, and Hawkins told Variety magazine:

“For me it has felt the right time to hand the reins over to another, and one can’t get much better than the truly wonderful Emily Mortimer, she is extraordinarily special. She will embody the essence of Mary Brown and yet make it utterly her own.  However, I am, and will always be in love with Paddington’s world. I already greatly miss my on and off-screen family—the experience of making the first two films has truly been some of the best and most creative times I have had in the world of film. They both gave me so much joy. I will forever hold them so very close to my heart indeed.”

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! in 2022: “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?

Variety has spilled the beans (the marmalade?) on the premise of Paddington 3. Everyone’s favorite bear will return to his homeland of Peru, the Brown family in tow, to visit his Aunt Lucy at the Home for Retired Bears. From there, he embarks on a brand new, sure-to-be-adorable adventure to find her when it transpires she’s gone on some sort of “quest.”

Where can I see the trailer for Paddington 3?

The trailer for Paddington in Peru dropped on June 12, 2024 and it was, of course, just too cute. It opens with Paddington attempting (and failing) to take a passport photo before heading off to Peru with the Brown family. (Look how grown up Jonathan and Judy are now!)

Another teaser trailer dropped on August 6, 2024, promising that Paddington’s greatest adventure yet is about to begin. This teaser is for the American market, so features the US release date:

What is the release date for Paddington 3?

It’s good news for Brits and bad news for Americans when it comes to the Paddington in Peru release date. Well, dates. The movie will come out in the UK on November 8, 2024, and during Martin Luther King Jr. weekend in the USA, on January 17, 2025.

Sorry, American Paddington fans—you might have to dodge spoilers for a couple of months.

Are there any new people joining Paddington for this movie?

Good news! People have wanted British national treasure Olivia Colman in a Paddington movie for ages now and now their dreams have come true! She’s gonna be in Paddington 3!

The trailer shows us Colman being her usual sunny self as a guitar-playing nun at the Home for Retired Bears in Peru. She’s present when the Browns decide to head off and find Aunt Lucy in the Amazon. “I have faith that you will survive!” she tells them, crossing her fingers.

There have been a couple of bumps in the road with regards to other casting choices though. The official Paddington X, formerly known as Twitter, account posted a cute message in June 2023 welcoming Colman and Mortimer to the cast as well as Antonio Banderas and Rachel Zegler. Unfortunately though, as per Variety, Zegler couldn’t join the movie due to the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strikes, and her role was been recast with up-and-coming actress Carola Tous. A comment from Dougal Wilson to Variety confirms this:

“It’s been a joy and an honour to shoot ‘Paddington in Peru’ with such a wonderful and talented cast and crew. I feel incredibly lucky to have been blessed with such a lovely group of people, many of whom have returned to the world of this beloved bear. We are also delighted to have welcomed Emily, Olivia, Antonio and Carla to the Paddington family.”

We, too, can’t wait to return to that world.

(featured image: StudioCanal)