'Paddington 4' Will Kick Off a Monsieur L'Bear Universe
Samuel Joslin, Madeleine Harris, Emily Mortimer, Hugh Bonneville and Julie Walters in 'Paddington in Peru'
Peter Mountain/Sony
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.”
This would be the second TV series StudioCanal has done spinning off the film franchise. The first live-action TV show based on the films (and with Whishaw returning to do the voice!) was launched in 2019, which ran three seasons, concluding in February 2025 after a long pandemic-related delay. It is as yet unclear if the new series will also feature Whishaw, or if the plan is to take things in a different direction.
Reports from the U.K. since 2023 have confirmed the musical version of Paddington will be from the same production company behind the stage magic of Harry Potter & the Cursed Child, funding the technology, music and lyrics by Tom Fletcher, formerly of the pop band McFly, and Jessica Swale penning the script. The plan is to have the stage show ready to be West End bound by the end of 2025, with a plot encompassing the story beats from the first two films intermixed with the book's source material.
The returning cast for Paddington 4 is expected to include Whishaw (This Is Going to Hurt), Hugh Bonneville (Downton Abbey), Julie Walters (Indian Summers), Imelda Staunton (The Crown), Madeleine Harris (The White Queen), Emily Mortimer (The New Look), and Samuel Joslin, who has made his career as Paddington's BFF Jonathan. Guest cast will be announced in due course, along with a title more creative than Paddington 4, and confirmation if director Dougal Wilson will return for the fourth installment or if Paul King plans to take his franchise back.
The original 2014 Paddington movie is available to stream on Max, Paddington 2 is available on Tubi. The third installment, Paddington in Peru, is still in theaters or as a streaming rental on Fandango Now. The musical and the TV series are expected to debut in 2026, Paddington 4 in 2027.
