Worries about the look of the main character turned to smiles and a healthy run at the box office for one of last year’s most pleasant surprises. So it makes sense that, when starting to think about a second Paddington, the producers might want co-writer/director Paul King to return, and Deadline brings word that he is now aboard.

King, who helped develop the story of the original with writer Hamish McColl, is going to be even more closely involved from the start for this one, working alongside regular collaborator Simon Farnaby to create the sequel’s narrative. We'd expect Farnaby, who showed up to memorable effect in Paddington, to also play some role this time.

Little else is known about the film: we don’t know what our furry hero will be up to this time, but it’s a fair bet that his human family, including Hugh Bonneville’s Mr. Brown, Sally Hawkins’ Mrs. Brown, Madeleine Harris’ Judy and Samuel Joslin’s Jonathan will be back in some capacity alongside Julie Walters’ Mrs. Bird. Could Paddington go off exploring? Or perhaps they’ll opt for something even more dramatic: Die Hard with marmalade sandwiches? All right, probably not the last one; though we would watch it.

Producer David Heyman and company backers StudioCanal are content to let King work on the new film at his own pace – after all, he’s earned their trust with the charm and success of the original.

Paddington is easily the best family film of the year.