Washington DC [US], May 26 : Animated comedy film 'Paddington' has found a new pair of writers to come up with the fourth instalment of the frachise.
According to Variety, Armando Iannucci, the Emmy-winning and Oscar-nominated Scotsman best known for creating hit satirical shows 'Veep' and 'The Thick of It,' is set to write the upcoming fourth film in Studiocanal's hit 'Paddington' franchise.
Iannucci will be joined on screenplay duties by his long-standing and fellow Emmy-winning and Oscar-nominated co-writer Simon Blackwell, who served as a key writer on both 'Veep' and 'The Thick of It,' reported Variety.
Meanwhile, according to Variety, Dougal Wilson, the award-winning commercials and music videos director who made his feature debut with the third film, 'Paddington in Peru,' is in talks to return.
'Paddington 4,' follows 2014's 'Paddington,' 2017's 'Paddington 2' and 2024's 'Paddington in Peru,' and a combined global box office in excess of 800 million USD.
Paul King directed the first two instalments (he wrote the first and co-wrote the second with Simon Farnaby), with Wilson taking over directing duties on the third (which was written by Mark Burton, Jon Foster and James Lamont).
Rosie Alison is set continue as producer for the film under the banner of Heyday Films. The fourth Paddington movie was only officially announced earlier this year.
Iannucci has earned his stripes many times over as a comedy writer, having also helped create the iconic TV character Alan Partridge, written for 'The Day Today' and, more recently, created HBO's 'Avenue 5,' while on film he co-wrote and directed 'In the Loop' (which was Oscar nominated for best adapted screenplay in 2010) and 'The Death of Stalin.'