It’s time to head back to Windsor Gardens and spend more time in the utterly lovely company of the Browns, because the Paddington 3 release date is on the way soon. The big screen’s most delightful ursine creation – sorry, Winnie the Pooh – is ready to make his return.
With 2014’s Paddington, director Paul King delivered one of the best kids movies of the 21st century. Three years later, he teamed with co-writer Simon Farnaby for Paddington 2 and delivered one of the best movies of all time. We won’t apologize, because it’s true. It has been a long wait since then, but check under your hat and hope there’s a marmalade sandwich there as we dive into one of the new movies we can’t wait to see.
Paddington 3 release date
Paddington 3, or Paddington in Peru to give it its proper title, will be out on Friday, January 17, 2025. UK viewers should be extra excited because it’s coming out even sooner, on Friday, November 8, 2024.
Paddington 3 marked a farewell for Paul King, who stepped away from his bear buddy to go and make Wonka instead. It has been an anxious wait since then, with production delayed several times, including due to the 2023 Actors Strike.
Now, though, we know exactly when Paddington will be back in our lives to bring another dose of his endlessly adorable antics. It’s still over a year away, but we’ll be counting down the days.
Who’s in the Paddington 3 cast?
Ben Whishaw and Hugh Bonneville will return to lead the Paddington 3 cast, with Olivia Colman, Emily Mortimer, Antonio Banderas, and Carla Tous the biggest new additions.
It’s difficult to believe that Paddington was once due to be voiced by Colin Firth because the gentle, child-like voice of Ben Whishaw is so perfectly suited to the CGI bear. Given that most of the movie will be set in Peru, Imelda Staunton should be back after her time in The Crown cast to voice Aunt Lucy again.
The Brown family will also be back, though there has been a bit of a personnel change. Sally Hawkins has stepped away from the role of Mrs Brown, with Emily Mortimer due to replace her. We’re sad to see Hawkins go, but Mortimer should be a terrific deputy.
As for new faces, Olivia Colman is in as the Reverend Mother, who runs the Home for Retired Bears in Peru. She has presumably been responsible for Aunt Lucy’s care for a long time now.
Antonio Banderas will play Hunter Cabot, who offers to guide the family through Peru and seems like an obvious villain contender. West Side Story star Rachel Zegler was originally cast as Cabot’s daughter, but the aforementioned strike meant she had to be replaced by newcomer Carla Tous.
There’s a huge supporting cast of British comedy talent in these movies, including Peter Capaldi, Sanjeev Bhaskar, and Jessica Hynes, but we don’t know which of them will be back. Unfortunately, we wouldn’t expect Hugh Grant to make a return as Phoenix Buchanan – one of the best movie villains in years – as he’s firmly locked up in prison. Convention dictates a whole new bad guy.
Paddington 3 cast list:
- Ben Whishaw as Paddington
- Imelda Staunton as Aunt Lucy
- Hugh Bonneville as Henry Brown
- Emily Mortimer as Mary Brown
- Madeleine Harris as Judy Brown
- Samuel Joslin as Jonathan Brown
- Olivia Colman as Reverend Mother
- Antonio Banderas as Hunter Cabot
- Carla Tous as Gina Cabot
- Julie Walters as Mrs. Bird
- Jim Broadbent as Mr Gruber
What is Paddington 3 about?
The Paddington 3 plot follows the bear and the Browns to Peru where they visit Aunt Lucy, only to find themselves sent off into the rainforest in order to solve a mystery. Intriguing!
Paddington will make the journey back to Peru in order to see Aunt Lucy again after their emotional reunion (understatement of the century, we’re still crying) at the end of Paddington 2.
We don’t know too much about what comes next, but we do know that a mystery of some kind then unravels, which leads Paddington and the Browns into the Amazon rainforest and to the mountain peaks beyond.
In order to achieve this journey into the unknown, they enlist the help of Banderas’ riverboat captain and his daughter. The Browns are certainly a long way from the cozy world of Windsor Gardens.
King, who serves as a producer on Paddington 3, interestingly compared it to “the third act of Triangle of Sadness,” when he spoke to Total Film Magazine. If you’ve not seen the dark comedy, it follows a group of privileged people who are left stranded when their luxury cruise ship goes topsy-turvy during a storm. It’s absurd, shocking, and obscene. Not very Paddington really, but we’re keeping the faith.
Is there a Paddington 3 trailer?
No, there isn’t a trailer for Paddington 3 just yet.
But you can absolutely spend some time watching this compilation of the funniest moments from the previous movies. Well worth settling down with a cup of tea to enjoy this.
How can I watch Paddington 3?
Paddington 2 will be exclusive to cinemas initially before hitting VOD platforms later for rental or purchase.
It’ll then make its way to a streaming service eventually. The first Paddington movie is available on Netflix in both the USA and the UK. As for the sequel, Paddington 2 is streaming on DirecTV in the USA. British viewers can find both movies on Netflix and Amazon Prime Video (sign up for a free trial if you’d like).
That’s everything we know about Paddington 3 for now, but be sure to check back as we learn more about our trip to the darkest Peru. You can also read our piece on why Paddington 2 is the best Hugh Grant movie.
In the meantime, we have guides to the 2023 movies you have to see as well as all of the details you need about the Chicken Run 2 release date, the Shrek 5 release date, and everything we know about The Marvels. Failing that, the best feel-good movies will give you a much-needed pick-me-up.