The 'Shazam! Fury of the Gods' actress has reportedly been recast in the upcoming third 'Paddington' movie as she has been unable to film it due to the ongoing strike.
- Sep 26, 2023
AceShowbiz - Rachel Zegler is canceling her flight to Peru. The actress has reportedly dropped out of "Paddington in Peru", which has been in production in since July, due to the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike.
The "West Side Story" star joined the cast of the threequel in June as a character named Gina Cabot, but she was unable to film as the actors union commenced their strike on July 14. The production kicked off on July 24 without the 22-year-old actress.
Now, it's reported that filming will wrap in two weeks and Zegler has been recast. Hollywood scooper Daniel Richtman broke the news via X, formerly Twitter, on Monday, September 25 as writing, "Paddington 3 wraps filming in two weeks and Rachel Zegler was recast due to strikes."
So far, there's no word on who replaces Zegler in the third "Paddington" movie as the studio has not officially announced the Golden Globe Award winner's departure from the project.
"Paddington 3" will "follow Paddington returning to Peru to visit his beloved Aunt Lucy, who now resides at the Home for Retired Bears. Paddington and the Brown Family embark on an unexpected journey through the Amazon rainforest and up to the mountain peaks of Peru."
Ben Whishaw returns as the voice of Paddington with Hugh Bonneville, Julie Walters, Jim Broadbent, Madeleine Harris, Samuel Joslin and Imelda Staunton among the returning cast. Olivia Colman, Antonio Banderas and Emily Mortimer are added to the cast.
Colman will play the reverend mother, "a blithe and sunny guitar-playing nun who runs the home for retired bears." Banderas is cast as Hunter Cabot, "a dashing and intrepid riverboat captain who offers to help the Brown family on their Peruvian adventure." Zegler was set to play Hunter's daughter, while Mortimer takes over from Sally Hawkins as Mrs. Brown.
The movie will mark the feature film directorial debut of Dougal Wilson as Paul King, who directed the first two films, declined to return in order to focus on helming "Wonka". A U.S. release date for the movie has not been announced yet.
