Paddington 3 Might Not Be Happening, According To Ben Whishaw

It's a potentially sad day for movie fans. While comic book fans are celebrating or fighting (or likely both) about the news of the next iteration of the DC Universe being announced, fans of the single best-reviewed movie ever released are in mourning for what appears to be potentially devastating news in the world of filmmaking.

That's right, there's a chance we may not get "Paddington 3" after all. Officially (and delightfully) titled "Paddington in Peru" (though it should be "Darkest Peru"), the sequel was originally announced even before its predecessor premiered. But since then, the third "Paddington" movie has only been "in talks," with conflicting reports about its existence. There was the debate of whether or not Paul King would return, and then his eventual stepping down to helm "Wonka" with Timothée Chalamet. Then, finally, in early 2022, the voice of the bear himself (Ben Whishaw) assured fans that "Paddington 3" would finally start shooting by the end of the year.

Of course, that was an inaccurate statement, because the film ended up not shooting last year. Worse yet, it seems "Paddington in Peru" may not even happen at all, depriving us of another polite and comforting movie experience.

Speaking with Collider, Wishaw revealed he has not read any script, or any word about the production at all.

"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."

To quietly cancel "Paddington in Peru" would be an absolute travesty. These movies are incredible, one of Britain's best exports, and two of the best family movies of the past decade. There's a reason "Paddington 2" held a perfect score on Rotten Tomatoes and a reason why only a terrible person would give it a rotten score. These movies are fun, have great scripts, and are impeccably cast, particularly when it comes to villains.

And all this is before you start to unwrap the films' anti-colonialist and anti-xenophobic commentary. As /Film writer Natalia Keogan wrote, "If we can feel good about ourselves for loving a fictional bear, maybe we can feel good about spreading that positivity to our communities, decidedly embracing difference instead of rejecting it."