Paddington 4 in the works – and a TV series and stage show
We can expect to see a lot more of the nation's favourite Peruvian bear.
Ever since the first film was released back in 2014, Paddington has well and truly underlined his status as a national treasure – and now StudioCanal chief Anna Marsh has revealed there are big plans afoot for the future of the beloved franchise.
In an interview with Deadline, Marsh confirmed that the kind-hearted, marmalade-guzzling bear would not only be returning for another big-screen adventure, but that he would also be getting a TV series and a stage show.
"There will be a fourth film," she explained. "We’re thinking about the next movies and we’re working on a new TV series as well as the stage show musical with Sonia Friedman and Eliza Lumley."
Given the consistent quality of the three films released so far, the tease of further projects will come as very encouraging news for fans – although we'll have to wait a little while before we can hear concrete developments regarding the next film.
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As for the musical, it was first announced to be in development from the same production company as the hit stage show Harry Potter and the Cursed Child back in December 2023, with McFly’s Tom Fletcher writing the music and lyrics and Olivier Award winner Jessica Swale penning the script.
The show will reportedly be based both on the movies and Michael Bond's iconic source books, and a West End launch is planned for sometime later in 2025.
Read more:
- Paddington in Peru review: Non-stop fun with surprises aplenty
- Paddington in Peru director was "terrified" to take over from Paul King
Of course, Paddington Bear has been a key part of the UK's cultural landscape since Bond's first book was published more than 65 years ago, in 1958, but there has been a massive surge of renewed interest in the character since Paul King's first film was released just over a decade ago.
Both sequels have been received extremely well, with 2017's Paddington 2 being met with especially rapturous reviews and becoming something of a modern classic, in no small part thanks to Hugh Grant's exceptional turn as villain Phoenix Buchanan.
The third outing, Paddington in Peru, was released in the UK in November last year and saw the directorial reigns handed from King to Dougal Wilson, with Olivia Colman and Antonio Banderas joining the cast.
In our four-star review, we described it as "non-stop fun with surprises aplenty" and called it a "a feel-good movie that leaves you feeling very good indeed".
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Authors
Patrick Cremona is the Senior Film Writer at Radio Times, and looks after all the latest film releases both in cinemas and on streaming. He has been with the website since October 2019, and in that time has interviewed a host of big name stars and reviewed a diverse range of movies.