HUGH GRANT and Brendan Gleeson are to join the cast of “Paddington” in a sequel to the 2014 box office hit.

    Grant will play Phoenix Buchanan, “a vain, charming acting legend whose star has fallen somewhat in recent years.”

    Gleeson will be seen as “Knuckles” McGinty, “a notorious safe-cracker and legendary strongman who becomes an unexpected new ally for Paddington.”

    Ben Whishaw will again voice Michael Bond’s ursine hero in “Paddington 2,” to be released in November 2017.

    Hugh Bonneville, Sally Hawkins, Julie Walters and Jim Broadbent will also reprise their roles in director Paul King’s sequel.

    King, who also directed the first film, which was both a critical and box office success, said it was “a complete joy to return to the world of Paddington.”

    According to an official synopsis, the film will see Paddington on the trail of a thief who has stolen a cherished pop-up book from a local antique shop.

    Grant was recently seen alongside Meryl Streep in “Florence Foster Jenkins,” while Gleeson will soon be seen opposite Michael Fassbender in “Assassin’s Creed.”

    (SD-Agencies)