Amando Iannucci has been confirmed as co-writer on Paddington 4 alongside long-time collaborator Simon Blackwell.

The fourth feature in the family-focused $700 million box office franchise was first teased by Studiocanal CEO Anna Marsh at CinemaCon in April. No story details have been released as yet.

It will follow 2024’s Paddington in Peru for which Paul King (Wonka), Simon Farnaby (Paddington 2) wrote the screen story with Mark Burton (Shaun the Sheep Movie), who also took screenplay credits with Jon Foster and James Lamont.

Iannucci and Blackwell previously worked together on hit political satires Veep and The Thick Of It.

Directed by Dougal Wilson, with Hugh Bonneville, Emily Mortimer, Julie Walters, Jim Broadbent, Olivia Colman, Antonio Banderas and Ben Whishaw in the cast, that production was the costliest yet with a budget of roughly $90m, but the least successful at the box office grossing roughly $211m worldwide.

London-set Paddington 2, shot on a budget of around $40m, made $290m, while the original 2014 feature grossed $333m.

Variety was the first to report the news of Iannucci and Blackwell’s being signing as co-writers. Studiocanal has confirmed the news to Deadline.

The same Variety report suggested that Wilson, who took up the baton on the franchise from Paul King, is also in talks to direct the fourth feature, but this has not been confirmed by Studiocanal.