British actor Ben Whishaw, who voices the eponymous bear of the highly acclaimed “Paddington” films, has offered a sadly rather disappointing news update in regards to the third film in the series.
Paul King directed the first two “Paddington” films but had to step back from a third one, which has been in development since 2016, due to his commitment to shoot the Timothee Chalamet-led “Wonka” movie.
The “Wonka” film was to be shot around the time “Paddington 3” was originally set to shoot in the second quarter of 2022. Then filming got pushed back and, at last report, Dougal Wilson was slated to take over as helmer and direct the project sometime this year.
Speaking with Collider during Sundance in an interview only published this week, Whishaw revealed that he has yet to see the script and there is no set window to start production:
“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.”
The two “Paddington” films thus far have generated combined total box-office revenue of $500 million or so.
