#Paddington 3 Loses Paul King as Director

To the surprise of many, the two movies based on the classic children’s literary character Paddington have emerged as family-friendly adventure classics. Much of this success was due to the direction of Paul King, whose short back-catalog is made up of two-thirds of bear-centric ventures. It was reported some time ago that the likelihood of King returning to direct Paddington 3 was slim, and sadly he has now confirmed that is indeed the case.

“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.”

Paul King will not be abandoning Paddington entirely though, as he is on board as an executive producer for the third movie. Clearly, King has a lot of love for the little marmalade addicted grizzly as he went on to describe directing the first two Paddington movies as one of the “greatest treats” of his life. However, the director feels that now is the time to move on and concentrate on other, non-bear related projects.

During the interview, King did confirm that the third Paddington movie is currently being worked on, with the script now being penned, and even suggested that the franchise could continue past Paddington 3.

“It’s not like Paddington dies at the end. He doesn’t ascend into the sky on a rocket-powered marmalade jar.”

While that rules out a hilariously surprising ending to the trilogy, it is comforting to hear that the delightfully upbeat escapades of Paddington and his adoptive family could well continue on for years to come.

In addition to directing 2014’s Paddington and the 2017 follow-up Paddington 2, King also wrote the first movie and co-wrote the second movie with Simon Farnaby. With King’s no doubt marmalade-covered fingerprints all over everything, it is difficult not to be worried about what may happen with the third movie now that he has taken a step back. At present, it is unclear who will take over for Paddington 3, but let’s hope it is someone who can match the charming quality of Paul King’s efforts.

Aside from the two Paddington movies, King wrote and directed the 2009 comedy/drama Bunny and the Bull starring Edward Hogg and Simon Farnaby. He has also helmed episodes of TV shows such as The Mighty Boosh, Come Fly with Me, and Netflix’s recent Space Force starring Steve Carell. King has also been tapped to direct a reboot of Roald Dahl’s Willy Wonka which will focus specifically on a young Willy Wonka and how he met the Oompa-Loompas on one of his earliest adventures.

For now, fans are left to wonder what sort of shenanigans the red hat-wearing Paddington will get up to on his third outing, but undoubtedly his family and friends will be along for the ride. Though King will not be returning, it is likely that the rest of the principal cast will, including Ben Whishaw as the titular bear alongside the likes of Jim Broadbent, Sally Hawkins, Madeleine Harris, Samuel Joslin, Julie Walters, and Peter Capaldi. This comes to us from Empire.

Topics: Paddington 3, Paddington