Queen Elizabeth II will appear in a new movie in 2024, despite her death in Sep. 2022. The late British monarch has a cameo in Paddington In Peru, according to producer Rosie Alison and Ron Halpern, head of global productions at France’s StudioCanal.
Alison told Variety the film cameo was approved by the Royal Family, “they were actually very happy for it to happen.” She added, “But we don’t like to make a big deal of it, because Paddington’s obviously a very modest fellow.” It came “with the consent and agreement of the royal household,” Halpern agreed.
The appearance will be an image of Elizabeth, and not be done through the generative artificial intelligence seen in productions like Alien: Romulus or computer-generated acting from the likes of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.
The image was taken from Paddington and Elizaebeth’s first meeting, during her Platinum Jubilee celebration. The 2024 movie cameo uses a still from the 2022 short film in which Elizabeth and Paddington were seen sharing afternoon tea in Buckingham Palace. “I keep mine in here — for later,” the queen said, pulling a marmalade sandwich from her handbag in the sketch. Paddington’s was underneath his iconic red hat, where it always is.
It wasn’t the only time Elizabeth’s sense of humor was put on display in a short: she also appeared in a James Bond sketch during the 2012 London Olympics opening ceremony. She joined Daniel Craig’s 007 for a humorous six-minute-long film where he visits the palace.
He walks the halls with her, the queen’s traditional corgi companions at their side, and then they travel by helicopter to a fictional facsimile of the opening ceremony. Craig opens the helicopter door, scanning below for the perfect landing area. Right before you think Bond is about to leap out, Elizabeth jumps instead. She opens a parachute decorated with the British flag and makes her landing off-screen.
The broadcast then switched from pre-recorded footage to live broadcast as the real Elizabeth made her entrance, wearing the same outfit seen in the film. It went viral, mostly because it didn’t quite align with the snobbish presentation commonly associated with the Royal Family. But it turns out, you need a good sense of humor to be queen.
Paddington 3 opting to commemorate Elizabeth isn’t shocking given how extremely British the brand is, and how open she was to stunts like this. When she passed away shortly after the sketch was released, Paddington Bear dolls were common among the tributes left out for her. It seemed she had a special place in her heart for the well-mannered bear.
However, the threequel is set in Peru this time around. The Brown family makes their way there to visit the ever-endearing Aunt Lucy, now perched up at the “Home for Retired Bears.” It brings back the stars from the previous films, except for Sally Hawkins, who has been replaced by Emily Mortimer. Paddington In Peru opens in the U.K. on Nov. 8, 2024, and in U.S. theaters on Jan. 17, 2025.