Paddington 3 Gets 2025 Release Date

Sony Pictures today announced that the third Paddington movie, titled Paddington in Peru, will release in theaters in January 2025. The long-awaited threequel centers on Paddington going to visit family, and being inadvertently thrown into a mystery in the Amazon rainforest. StudioCanal will fund the film, as they did the first two. The film will be directed by Dougal Wilson, who makes his feature film debut with Paddington in Peru after years working in advertising and music videos. The movie will release early in the United Kingdom, where StudioCanal will open it on November 8, 2024. 

The news comes as many major films are being pushed back as a result of the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike. Of course, Paddington in Peru was produced in the UK, where they have a different union.

“We have long been huge admirers of Dougal’s work, his stunning visual creativity, his storytelling, heart, emotion and humour,” Studiocanal CEO Anna Marsh and EVP Global Production Ron Halpern said in a statement when production began. “We are so thrilled that Dougal will be directing the third Paddington film. We look forward to bringing Paddington back to Peru for his next big screen adventure.” 

“After ten years of working on the Paddington movies, I feel absurdly protective of the little bear, and I’m delighted that Dougal will be there to hold his paw as he embarks on his third big screen adventure,” said Paul King, who directed the first two Paddington movies. “Dougal’s work is never less than astounding: funny, beautiful, heartfelt, imaginative, and totally original. Aunt Lucy once asked us to ‘Please Look After This Bear.’ I know Dougal will do so admirably.”

Here’s how Sony and StudioCanal describe the film:

The highly anticipated third Paddington film brings Paddington’s story to Peru as he returns to visit his beloved Aunt Lucy, who now resides at the Home for Retired Bears. With the Brown Family in tow, a thrilling adventure ensues when a mystery plunges them into an unexpected journey through the Amazon rainforest and to the mountain peaks of Peru.

Directed by Dougal Wilson. Screenplay by Mark Burton, Jon Foster and James Lamont. Story by Paul King, Simon Farnaby and Mark Burton. Paddington in Peru is based on the best-selling and internationally adored series of children’s stories by British author Michael Bond. Produced by David Heyman and Rosie Alison. Executive producers are Paul King, Anna Marsh, Ron Halpern, Dan MacRae, Tim Wellspring, Jeffrey Clifford and Naoya Kinoshita. The film stars Hugh Bonneville, Emily Mortimer, Antonio Banderas, Olivia Colman, Julie Walters, Madeleine Harris, Samuel Joslin, Jim Broadbent and Carla Tous with both Ben Whishaw and Imelda Staunton returning as the respective voices of Paddington and Aunt Lucy.

STUDIOCANAL who developed the film, is fully financing and will distribute in the UK (Release date: 11/8/2024), France, Germany, Benelux, Poland, Australia and New Zealand as well as through partners in China and Japan. Sony Pictures will distribute in the US, Canada and other key international territories including Latin America. The film is produced by Heyday Films.

Paddington in Peru will be in US theaters on January 17, 2025.