Studiocanal has secured its writers for Paddington 4.
Armando Iannucci, the Emmy-winning and Oscar-nominated creator of Veep and The Thick of It, will write the fourth film. He is co-writing the upcoming Paddington franchise installment alongside his longtime creative partner, Simon Blackwell. Blackwell also won two Emmys for his acclaimed work on Veep and The Thick of It.
The fourth film was announced at CinemaCon after Studiocanal CEO Anna Marsh officially confirmed the project was moving forward. The identities of the writers and the potential director were not officially announced.
Currently in negotiations to return as director is the award-winning commercials and music videos director who made his feature-film debut with Paddington in Peru, Dougal Wilson. Studiocanal has yet to confirm Wilson’s return to the project.
Iannucci is a comedy legend
He helped create Steve Coogan’s TV character Alan Partridge and created HBO’s Avenue 5. He co-wrote and directed the 2009 film In the Loop (2010 Oscar nominee for Best Adapted Screenplay) and The Death of Stalin. Blackwell co-created the comedy series Breeders and the sitcom Back and co-wrote Iannucci’s film The Personal History of David Copperfield. It starred Paddington voice actor, Ben Whishaw.
Paddington 4 comes after 2014’s Paddington, 2017’s Paddington 2, and 2024’s Paddington in Peru. Together, the trilogy has grossed more than $800 million domestically and worldwide. Paddington in Peru, with a hefty $90 million budget, was the most expensive yet drew the least revenue, earning $211 million at the worldwide box office. Paddington 2, with a $40 million production budget, improved to $290 million worldwide.
The first two movies were directed by Paul King, who co-wrote the second with Simon Farnaby. Wilson followed as director and co-writer of the third, with a screenplay by Mark Burton, Jon Foster, and James Lamont.
The cinematic franchise was first spearheaded by producer Rosie Alison, who envisioned bringing Michael Bond‘s iconic bear to life as a live-action/VFX hybrid. She has remained a key producer throughout the series under the Heyday Films banner.
They are pressing ahead with development, aiming for a release date to match the 70th anniversary of Bond’s 1958 children’s book, A Bear Called Paddington. No plot has been released.
