PADDINGTON 4 and TV Series Spinoff Confirmed to Be Heading Into Development
Many new announcements have come out this week about the Paddington film franchise. The first two movies, Paddington (2014), and Paddington 2 (2017), were huge successes both in the box office, as well as with fans.
The stories these films have told are so well done, and the acting is great. The third film, Paddington in Peru, is right around the corner, with a January 17th, 2025 release date, and now we have even more Paddington adventures to look forward to.
It was reported during panels for Canal+ group's StudioCanal unit at the Brand Licensing Europe 2024 convention in London this week (via ComicBook) that Paddington 4 already has a greenlight, while a Paddington TV series is also being developed as a spinoff of the film franchise.
Françoise Guyonnet, CEO of StudioCanal, kids & family, and Sissel Henno, head of global sales – licensing & retail at StudioCanal spoke at the presentation, making it clear that when it comes to Paddington, there is dedicated focus toward "Turning a Heritage Brand into a Global Phenomenon," and delving deeper into the "ongoing journey of Paddington from a classic character to a worldwide cultural phenomenon."
Right now, the timeline for development is looking synchronous, with Paddington 4 and the TV show estimated "to come in 2027, '28." 2028 will not-so-coincidentally mark the 70th anniversary of the Paddington character and franchise.
Other big announcements included confirmation that "At the end of next year... we are launching a musical in the [London] West End with Sonia Freeman, one of the best producers. It's noted that "Paddington: The Musical will feature music and lyrics by Tom Fletcher, with Jessica Swale as writer and Luke Sheppard as director."
All of this sounds like a good time. Those Paddington movies are so good, and we look forward to seeing more from the franchise.