Colin Firth Won't Be Voicing Paddington Bear in 'Paddington'

Colin Firth may have given King George VI his voice in The King's Speech, but he won't be voicing Paddington Bear in Paddington. Entertainment Weekly reported on Tuesday that Firth had left the project.

"After a period of denial, we've chosen 'conscious uncoupling,'" Firth told EW, making a Gwyneth Paltrow joke in the process. "It's been bittersweet to see this delightful creature take shape and come to the sad realization that he simply doesn't have my voice. ... I've had the joy of seeing most of the film and it's going to be quite wonderful. I still feel rather protective of this bear and I'm pestering them all with suggestions for finding a voice worthy of him."

Despite the movie being almost complete, director Paul King told EW, "We love the voice and we love the bear, but as our young bear came into being we agreed that the two didn’t seem to fit. So, with somewhat heavy hearts we decided to part ways."

Paddington is scheduled to open in British theaters on Nov. 28 and in America on Dec. 25, so King and producer David Heyman are going to have to move quickly to find Paddington's new voice. EW reports that the process shouldn't cause any delay.