Hugh Bonneville Discusses Future Paddington Films & Downton Abbey

Paddington star Hugh Bonneville has indicated that the film series will continue without him, while also revealing whether he’s done with Downton Abbey after the Grand Finale. The actor, who plays Mr Brown in the family film franchise, said he is unlikely to return to the series, but that his absence won’t impact the story given that the focus will remain on the bear. Asked if he would return to Paddington, he told Saga Magazine: "I don’t think so. I really don’t. I’ve loved it, but I’m getting on a bit.” He continued: "It’s a younger man’s job, but you can get other actors in and it will work just as well, because it’s all about the bear." Bonneville also went on to reveal that period drama Downton Abbey could keep going after the feature film The Grand Finale – which was billed as the franchise’s last – but that he wouldn’t be returning to that series, either. He said: "I wouldn’t be surprised if they make some sort of spin-off, but no, our company has left the building." He continued: "The Grand Finale really was a farewell. As we came towards the end of filming, I would take a look around each set – let’s say the library – for the last time, so that I would be able to remember. "I feel enormous love for Downton. Every single day a message comes through about what it meant to someone, so I’m enormously proud… and it was a springboard for me meeting the bear (Paddington)." The first Paddington movie, starring Bonneville, Ben Whishaw, Sally Hawkins and Julie Walters, was released in 2014 and went on to win best film at the BAFTA Children’s Awards in 2015. It spawned two sequels, released in 2017 and 2024, while a fourth movie is also in the works to mark the character’s 70th anniversary. StudioCanal chief Anna Marsh revealed there were plans for a fourth film in an interview with Deadline back in February, during which she also revealed a TV series and a stage show were on the horizon. "There will be a fourth film," she explained. "We’re thinking about the next movies and we’re working on a new TV series as well as the stage show musical with Sonia Friedman and Eliza Lumley."