'Paddington 3' Will Film Next Summer, Just In Time To Save Us All

We'll take good news wherever we can take it these days and an unlikely source — the Cannes Film Festival, of all things — has official confirmation of one of the best pick-me-ups you could reasonably expect: Principal photography of the highly-demanded, and likely soul-saving, Paddington 3 will finally begin in 2022.

The news comes from the Cannes Film Festival (via a tweet by IndieWire's David Ehrlich) , in an announcment from Anna Marsh, CEO of StudioCanal (which, along with Heyday Films, has been the distribution company behind the previous two Paddington films), which confirms that Paddington 3 will begin principal photography in Quarter 2 of 2022.

No other directing, casting, or location information has yet been made available, though we know that Paul King, Simon Farnaby, and Mark Burton will all return to contribute story credits while screenwriting duties will fall to Mark Burton, Jon Foster, and James Lamont. King is also attached as executive producer. One can reasonably expect the voice of the eponymous bear, Ben Wishaw, as well as Sally Hawkins and Hugh Bonneville to make their triumphant returns as well.

Exciting times! Last we heard, Paddington 3 was in "active development" after a distressing period of time where it seemed that it appeared the continuing adventures of the wholesome, marmalade-loving bear might not actually happen. This latest news, while obviously joyous, doesn't seem to contradict a previous quote by Paddington producer David Heyman that Paul King may not return to direct. This is still a bit of a bummer, as King managed to maintain the perfect balance of tones needed to make the previous films a heartfelt exploration into themes such as home, belonging, and issues regarding immigration and the injustices of the prison system. Yeah, these movies went there. And they are glorious.

Still, it's good to hear that King will at least be returning to contribute to the story this time around. These films are such a precise alchemy represented by the storytellers behind the scenes, and there's something comforting about the fact that the same "family" (to borrow a currently-unstoppable internet meme) is largely staying involved from one sequel to the next. According to Heyman's own words:

"Paul is involved in it, I wanted him to be involved in it because I think he's such a significant voice, but I don't think he'll direct it. He worked on the idea... he comes up with the idea with Simon Farnaby and Mark Burton and then they develop it and come back for more, back and forth, and then it'll get written and Paul will come in and stir it up a little bit."

We realize few things are more important than this franchise, so we'll be sure to bring you more Paddington 3 news as it comes in. For now, we'll likely be rewatching those previous two movies with friends, family, and a big jar of marmalade by our sides.