Paddington is a very good movie. Paddington 2 is one of the best movies of the 2010s (or if Rotten Tomatoes scores carry weight, of all-time). By this logic, Paddington 3 will transcend our understanding of what a “cinematic masterpiece” can be. It will unite Democrats and Republicans, it will bring peace to the Middle East, it will make marmalade as omnipresent in the United States as ketchup. You might say I’m excited.
Variety reports that Paddington 3 is “among a host of slate titles revealed by Studiocanal” at the Cannes Film Festival on Tuesday. “Studiocanal CEO Anna Marsh said that principal photography on the keenly anticipated project would commence in the second quarter of 2022.” If we’re kind and polite, the Paddington trilogy will see daylight.
Paddington 2 was a hit for StudioCanal, earning $228 million at the international box office on a $40 million budget (not to mention the near-unanimously positive reviews), so a trilogy-capper should have been a sure thing. But there was some concern when Paul King said he wasn’t going to return to direct. “At some point, you just have to stop. It might be time for somebody else to do a twist on it. I’m trying not to do a third bear movie, which is a huge, huge mistake,” he told Empire. King will, however, receive an executive producer and story by credit for Paddington 3, along with Simon Farnaby and Mark Burton, who co-wrote the screenplay with Jon Foster and James Lamont.
The director and cast are “currently under wraps,” but we have some ideas on who could play the villain (make it Tom Hardy, you cowards).
— tweets by cian
(@CianOMahony) July 6, 2021
(Via Variety)