Paddington in Peru, the third film in the Paddington franchise, has added a newcomer to its cast. Oscar winner Olivia Colman is in talks to play a role in the StudioCanal feature about the beloved bear.
Ben Whishaw has long voiced the titular bear, who in past films was seen getting into adventures with the Brown family. Exact plot details are being kept under wraps but the movie will see Paddington travel from his home in London to his native home of “darkest Peru.”
Sources note that Colman’s character will run a retirement home for bears in Peru. (Fans of the Paddington franchise will remember that Paddington’s Aunt Lucy lives in The Home for Retired Bears.)
Paddington in Peru will be the feature debut of Dougal Wilson, the award-winning commercial and music video director. Heyday and StudioCanal are producing the feature. Filming will be done on location in London and Peru.
StudioCanal, which is fully backing the movie, will release Paddington in Peru in the U.K., France, Germany, Benelux, Australia/New Zealand and Poland. Sony Pictures holds rights for the rest of the world, excluding Russia, China and Japan.
The Paddington movies have been both a commercial and critical success for StudioCanal, grossing more than $500 million at the worldwide box office. The first two movies have a 97 percent and 99 percent fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, respectively, and have reached cult status as well. Recently, the movies were referenced in the plot of Nicolas Cage starrer The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, while Paddington participated in Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee celebration, a skit which earned a BAFTA honor.
Colman earned her Oscar for her role in Yorgos Lanthimos’ The Favourite, and has since been nominated twice in 2021 for The Father and 2022 for The Lost Daughter.
The actress ping pongs between more commercials fare and prestige projects, having recently appeared in Netflix break-out series Heartbreaker and recent Marvel entry Secret Invasion, as well as Sam Mendes’ Empire of LIght and BBC’s Great Expectations. Upcoming, she will appear alongside Timothee Chalamet in in a Willy Wonka origin story Wonka and StudioCanal feature Wicked Little Letters.
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