'Paddington 4' Will Kick Off a Monsieur L'Bear Universe

Considering that most long-standing British children's idols like Peter Rabbit and Winnie the Pooh are over 100 years old, dating back to before a double whammy of World Wars ended the global empire, one could be forgiven for assuming Paddington Bear was also from an older time. But the young ursine in a sensible hat and coat actually is barely reaching the age of a pensioner, having been born in 1958 from the mind of British author Michael Bond in A Bear Called Paddington. Perhaps Paddington's more recent arrival is why the film franchise has yet to feel tired, since it's the first big screen adaptation of the character in history, after an almost-modest three animated TV series that aired between 1976-1997.

The 2014 Paddington film was a box office winner, but just as importantly, a critical darling. Since there had never been a live action Paddington (ever) and this was the first big-budget film, producer David Heyman and co-writer and director Paul King didn't feel like they had to go ultra modern, or make major changes to the source material. Paddington stood out as a simple, quiet family movie in a crowded landscape of loud merchandise-driven kid's films, with A-list level performances from some of the U.K.'s finest actors including Ben Whishaw as the titular bear.

Fast forward a decade and while Paddington in Peru was not the franchise's peak (that would be Paddington 2, which has been crowned one of the few perfect films ever made), the series isn't ready to be put out to pasture yet, not for years, and producer StudioCanal knows it. In an interview with Deadline, StudioCanal chief Anna Marsh confirmed that expansion plans were in the works: “There will be a fourth film. 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.”