Ben Whishaw, universally known as the voice of Paddington, has some disappointing news for fans waiting anxiously for Paddington 3. During an exclusive interview with Collider’s own Steven Weintraub with Whishaw and Bad Behaviour's director Alice Englert, during Sundance, the star revealed that he’s yet to see the script of the threequel, and there’s no set window to start production.
In 2014, director Paul King gifted the world with Paddington, a live-action adaptation of the classic stories by author Michael Bond. The movie is a perfect feel-good story to be enjoyed by the entire family. Still, it wasn’t until 2017’s Paddington 2 that King perfected his marmalade formula and delivered what’s almost unanimously recognized as the pinnacle of cinema. The love for Paddington 2 is so widespread that The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent has an entire montage to crown the sequel as one of the three best movies in history. Paddington is an international sensation, so where is the threequel that we were promised? According to Whishaw, nowhere near us. In the star’s words:
“I haven't read this script and I don't even know when we're due to shoot it. I don't know. I thought it would be happening by now, but I don't know. It's gone silent in the way that sometimes these things do. Maybe that just means they're still working on it, or maybe it means it's not happening, or you just don't know.”
No Paddington 3? That will cause a prison riot! The news is particularly disappointing because, last June, we learned King was stepping down from the franchise, and director Dougal Wilson would helm the threequel. Paddington 3 even got an official title, Paddington in Peru, together with the promise our favorite bear would return to his home in South America. Those were clear signs that the project was moving forward, but it seems like things are still stuck in development hell.
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