Olivia Colman, Antonio Banderas, and Rachel Zegler are all in talks to join the cast of Paddington in Peru. Directed by Dougal Wilson, the third Paddington adventure finds the titular bear returning to Peru to visit his beloved Aunt Lucy, who now resides at the Home for Retired Bears. A mystery plunges Paddington and the Brown family into an unexpected journey through the Amazon rainforest and up to the country’s mountain peaks.
Colman will play the Reverend Mother, a blithe and sunny guitar-playing nun who runs the Home for Retired Bears; Banderas will portray Hunter Cabot, a dashing and intrepid riverboat captain who offers to help the Brown family on their Peruvian adventure; and Zegler has been cast as Cabot’s daughter Gina.
Emily Mortimer is another new cast member and will take over the role of Mrs. Brown from Sally Hawkins.
Returning franchise cast members include Hugh Bonneville, Julie Walters, Jim Broadbent, Madeleine Harris, and Samuel Joslin. Ben Whishaw will also reprise his role as the voice of Paddington and Imelda Staunton returns as the voice of Aunt Lucy.
The casting of Colman and Staunton means the film will feature two of the actresses to play Queen Elizabeth II on The Crown. Paddington himself, of course, costarred with the Queen in a 2022 sketch, part of the monarch’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations.
Paddington in Peru will film in the U.K., Peru, and Colombia with principal photography beginning on July 24.