Paddington, Wonka director set to helm Labubu movie

Sony’s long-in-development Labubu movie has taken a major step forward with a high-profile creative hire. As per reports, Paul King, best known for directing the first two Paddington films and Timothee Chalamet-starrer Wonka has signed on to direct and produce the project. One of the Paddington films even held the title of best-reviewed movie of all time for a period.

The Labubu movie is really happening and just got a major update

Sony is reportedly working closely with Pop Mart, the Chinese retail powerhouse which manufactured the Labubu dolls. The mini furry dolls were created by Kasing Lung, a Hong Kong–born artist who later moved to the Netherlands, where his exposure to European folklore helped inspire The Monsters series that introduced Labubu.

The collectables have surged in popularity, particularly in the fashion segment and Pop Mart’s use of blind-box packaging, pop-up events, and scarcity-based marketing also helped its hype.

Although King did not direct Paddington in Peru, he remained involved as a producer and story writer. He is also attached to direct a Disney film centered on Prince Charming, with Chris Hemsworth reportedly set to star.

Toy-based films have seen mixed results at the box office. The Lego Movie was a massive hit in 2014, though later sequels struggled, while Barbie became a cultural and commercial juggernaut in 2023, and earned more than $1.4 billion worldwide.

Following successes like Barbie, The Super Mario Bros. Movie, and Sonic the Hedgehog Hollywood has consistently been searching for fresh IPs and studios have increasingly leaned into toys and games. Warner Bros. has also found major success with A Minecraft Movie in 2025, and a few new projects are in development ranging from Masters of the Universe to Rock ’Em Sock ’Em Robots, which is being written by Vin Diesel.

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