‘Paddington’ Director’s ‘Labubu’ Movie Officially Takes a Monstrous Step Forward

Following the news that Paul King had been tapped to direct an official Labubu movie back in December, POP MART and Sony Pictures officially confirm a feature film based on LABUBU, the breakout star of THE MONSTERS universe, is moving forward in development. In addition to directing, it has now been revealed that King will produce the film as well as co-write the script with Steven Levenson.

The project was unveiled in Paris during THE MONSTERS’ global exhibition tour for the brand’s 10th anniversary, which makes this all feel even more surreal and weirdly inevitable at the same time. The film is still in early development and is being described as a live-action and CGI hybrid, with King (Paddington) and Levenson, whose credits include Dear Evan Hansen, tick, tick… BOOM!, and Fosse/Verdon, currently working on the script.

Now, naturally, we are slightly in disbelief that this is even happening, but that creative team is the reason this does not instantly read like a throwaway cash-in. King has built a very specific reputation for taking whimsical material and actually making it worthwhile, first with the Paddington films and then with Wonka. Wonka alone grossed more than $635 million worldwide, which makes him a perfect choice for a project that needs to convince people that a fuzzy little gremlin doll can carry a movie. Paddington and chums were simply little miracles, while Wonka made Timothée Chalamet seem like someone who actually likes ballet and opera.

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What Is LABUBU?

LABUBU was created by Kasing Lung, who first introduced the character and THE MONSTERS world in his 2015 picture-book trilogy. Since then, the character has gone from niche design oddity to full-blown global collectible phenomenon, becoming one of POP MART’s biggest icons. Lung is on board the film as an executive producer, while Michael Schaefer and Wenxin She will also produce, with Brittany Morrissey overseeing for Sony Pictures.

There is no cast yet, which is probably for the best, because the first hurdle here is just wrapping your head around the idea that the dangly monster hanging off your niece’s handbag is entering its movie era at all. Still, if Hollywood was ever going to make a film about this particular little menace, getting Paul King to shepherd it is about as reassuring as this news could possibly be. It is a bizarre move on paper, but it might just be bizarre enough to work.

Stay tuned at Collider for further updates.