Whether you were a beloved fan of Paddington when you went in or not, chances are you adored the marmalade-eating bear after taking the last two live-action films. Both were absolutely brilliant, charming and fun in equal measure, with a combined box office over $480M. And as such it’s not surprising to learn that a third movie is in the works, but the sad news is that a key component of their success won’t be coming back.
Speaking with Empire, producer David Heyman says director Paul King, who was at the helm of both prior movies, won’t be around to direct Paddington 3.
“I don’t think Paul King will direct the third. He did the first two – he and I are working on another project together. He’s very special, Paul. We’re developing a third ‘Paddington.’ We haven’t got a script yet, we’ve got a treatment which we’re still working on.”
Ooof, that hurts. But King has become very popular of late, taking on a Willy Wonka prequel and a live-action Pinocchio film over at Disney. The good news is that he’s not completely out of the picture, as Heyman says King is still involved with Paddington on a story level…
“Paul is involved in it, I wanted him to be involved in it because I think he’s such a significant voice, but I don’t think he’ll direct it. He worked on the idea. He comes up with the idea with Simon Farnaby and Mark Burton and then they develop it and come back for more, back and forth, and then it’ll get written and Paul will come in and stir it up a little bit. But he’s an incredible collaborator, Paul.”
No word on who exactly will take over directing Paddington 3 but he’s got some big shoes to fill.
