By India McCarty
PADDINGTON 4 has found its new writers — and possibly a director!
“Variety can exclusively confirm that Armando Iannucci, the Emmy-winning and Oscar-nominated Scotsman best known for creating hit satirical shows VEEP and THE THICK OF IT, is set to turn his pen to London’s most beloved four-pawed Peruvian expat and will write the upcoming fourth film in Studiocanal‘s hit PADDINGTON franchise,” the outlet reported.
Variety added that Iannucci will write the script alongside longtime partner Simon Blackwell, who also wrote on VEEP and THE THICK OF IT.
Related: Faith, Family Entertainment Dominate CinemaCon Day 1 With PADDINGTON 4 Announcement
While it is still unconfirmed, it’s also rumored that Dougal Wilson, who directed PADDINGTON IN PERU, will return for the series’ fourth installment.
StudioCanal confirmed PADDINGTON 4 earlier this year at CinemaCon.
In a 2025 interview with Variety, chief of Studiocanal and chief content officer for Canal+ Group Anna Marsh revealed more plans for the beloved bear.
“We’re also developing a new PADDINGTON TV series and we are developing an animated PADDINGTON movie,” she said but did not elaborate on when audiences can expect these projects.
Karen Jankel, the daughter of the creator of Paddington Bear, Michael Bond, recently shared her thoughts on the legacy of Paddington on the 100th anniversary of Bond’s birth. He passed away at 91 in 2017.
“Paddington has become such an institution that, even to this day, I still can’t quite believe that he wouldn’t exist but for my father,” she said in a statement. “Although he may no longer be here in person, my father lives on through the characters he created. I’m both delighted and enormously proud to be celebrating his centenary.”
Mark Burton, one of the writers on PADDINGTON IN PERU, spoke to CreativeScreenwriting about why audiences around the world love Paddington so much.
“The great thing about Paddington is his incredible belief in the goodness of human nature. And I think that’s the heart and soul of why the films are so successful, why people find it such a nice world to be in,” Burton said. “We realized that we wanted to maintain that element of how he always seems to find the good in people so we made sure to guard that aspect of his character.”
There’s no word yet on when fans can expect PADDINGTON 4 to hit theaters, but we can’t wait to see what new adventures Paddington gets into!
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