The already widely-mockedPaddington movie is losing perhaps its most credible component: voice of the titular character, Colin Firth.
Firth told EW today that “After a period of denial, we’ve chosen ‘conscious uncoupling,’” to describe his split from the production. This move will certainly raise some eyebrows, given that the movie is slated for release on Christmas Day and the first trailer premiered last week.
Given that Firth’s part was voice-only, though, it isn’t so crazy for him to drop out this late in the game. Firth simply believed that the fit wasn’t there, saying:
The studio agreed with Firth in their statement, with director Paul King saying:
While this hiccup is not a great omen for production, all could be rectified if they find the right person to replace Firth. If they’re looking for a bumbling Brit who could be endearingly mischievous (and also appeared with Firth in Bridget Jones’ Diary), we’d submit an obvious choice: Hugh Grant.
[via EW]
