France’s Studiocanal has signed on as a financing partner and worldwide distributor for the film adaptation of Hannah Gold’s bestselling kids novel The Last Bear. 

In the book (published by HarperCollins in 2021), an 11-year-old helps an injured polar bear travel across melting ice—a dangerous journey that ultimately helps her connect with her distant dad. The book has been translated into close to 30 languages, and a sequel called Finding Bear was released in 2023. There’s very little info available about the film at present, but Bertie Ellwood (Disney’s Hawkeye) has been tapped to direct it. 

The project seems a fitting one for Studiocanal, which has had a lot of success with the Paddington film and TV franchise that also revolves around a book-based bear. Paddington in Peru, the latest film, has earned more than US$190 million globally, according to Box Office Mojo. The Last Bear‘s film adaptation was announced last year, with ZQ Entertainment, Prime Universe Films and Matt Wexler (PAW Patrol) of WexWorks producing. Patrick Burleigh (The Eternals) penned the movie’s scriptZ, and ZQ financed the film’s development.