Hugh Bonneville praises Paddington in Peru director Dougal Wilson

Hugh Bonneville has said making ‘Paddington in Peru’ “felt very different” thanks to the new director Dougal Wilson.

The 53-year-old filmmaker took over the franchise from Paul King for the upcoming movie, and while the experience of making a new ‘Paddington’ film was not the same as before due to the new director, the ‘Downton Abbey’ star, 60, insisted Wilson was able to incorporate some “gloriously fresh” ideas into the series while remaining faithful to what had come before .

During an interview with Digital Spy, Bonneville said: “It felt very different, particularly with Dougal's nerves bless him because he said, 'How am I ever going to match what Paul created', but he has.

“He's not only stepped into those very big shoes but he's filled them beautifully and added his own flavours and tone. There's some visual ideas in it, which are gloriously fresh.”

The movie follows on from the events of 2017’s ‘Paddington 2’, where the lovable bear travels to South America in an effort to find his Aunt Lucy.

As Wilson was trying to stay faithful to the first two movies, the filmmaker stressed he was not thinking about “putting [his] stamp” on the franchise by veering away from what was established in King's previous efforts.

He explained: “It was a terrifying prospect to try and live up to the first two films because they are held in such high regard, and I've certainly tried my hardest.

“There was many things about the first two films that I absolutely loved, including Paul's visual ingenuity and the tone and the different layers you can enjoy the film at. So I was just trying to continue in that vein and what you see is what emerged.”

Bonneville returns alongside Ben Whishaw, Samuel Joslin, Madeleine Harris and Julie Waters, while the flick also welcomes newcomers Olivia Colman, Antonio Banderas and Emily Brown - who is taking over the role as Mrs. Brown from Sally Hawkins.