Dougal Wilson Chosen to Direct Paddington 3

With his crafty aesthetics, experience with CG animals and ability to combine whimsical humour with heartfelt emotions, it shouldn’t be too much of a surprise for seasoned ad watchers that director Dougal Wilson has reportedly been chosen to direct the new Paddington Bear movie.

According to an exclusive in the Hollywood Reporter, Dougal will take over directing duties from Paul King, who directed the first two movies and is now working on the upcoming Wonka movie. With their sincere charm, the first two movies set a very high bar: in April 2021, Paddington 2 became the highest rated movie of all time on review site Rotten Tomatoes. 

According to the report, the new film will be called ‘Paddington in Peru’ and will see the titular bear, voiced by Ben Wishaw, return to his home turf after two adventures in London. The film will be produced by StudioCanal and Heyday Films.

Dougal is a much admired and awarded filmmaker in the commercial and music video production space, beloved for his flair for creative details and humour. Most pertinently, he’s also a dab hand at directing loveable CG animals. Dougal is the director behind John Lewis ads like Monty the Penguin and Buster the Boxer - and for Three Mobile he crafted a very groovy moonwalking pony.

Before becoming a director, Dougal started his advertising career as a creative at Edinburgh’s Leith Agency, where he worked on the irreverent Irn-Bru brand. He made his switch to directing via music videos, shooting hits like The Streets’ Fit But You Know It, Dizzee Rascal’s Dream, Bat for Lashes’ What’s a Girl to Do and Coldplay’s Life in Technicolor II.

His reel also includes videos for the likes of Goldfrapp and Basement Jaxx, as well as commercials for Apple, Coca-cola, Orange and Ikea. He’s won a slew of awards for his directing and his work for Channel 4’s Paralympic coverage, We’re the Super Humans was the 2017 Cannes Lions Film Grand Prix winner.

Dougal also has some short films under his belt, including a comical silent film-inspired take on The Barber of Seville for the English National Opera and Sky Arts and a climate change film called No Pressure, which was written by king of cosy English cinema, Richard Curtis.

In the UK, Dougal is represented for commercial directing bu production company Blink - and he is represented by Furlined in the US.