Tyler Hynes, Paul Campbell and Andrew Walker knew exactly what they wanted to include in their third and final Wise Men film, Three Wisest Men, to excite fans.
“The very first thing that came into my mind the second the idea of doing a third [film] was broached, was wrapping paper suits. I knew that because I knew that we needed an outfit,” Campbell, 46, exclusively told Us Weekly. “I knew that we needed something fun for our slow-mo. And I’ve been wanting to wear wrapping paper suits for a while. And I was thinking about how we would wear those after the movie, posthumously, and take photos with them. I knew right away that we needed those for sure.”
Campbell, Hynes, 39, and Walker, 46, first starred in Three Wise Men and a Baby in 2022, a film that broke records when it became the most watched TV movie of that year. They followed up that success with 2024’s Three Wise Men and a Boy before announcing that the franchise would conclude with Three Wisest Men this year.
The third film, which premieres on Hallmark Saturday, November 15, follows Brenner brothers Luke (Walker), Stephen (Campbell) and Taylor (Hynes) as they come to terms with their mother’s decision to sell their childhood home while making decisions about their own futures.
Every Holiday Movie on TV This 2025 Season: Hallmark, Netflix and Lifetime
While speaking to Us, Campbell — who also cowrote all three films with fellow Hallmark star Kimberly Sustad — said he wanted to make sure the trio “paid homage” to the previous movies without feeling like they were doing “the same thing twice.” Some of those special moments include the brothers’ now-famous slo-mo montages, awkward choreographed dance numbers and plenty of heartfelt moments.
“The challenge is, for example, ‘How do we incorporate some dancing into the movie without doing the same thing?’ And special scenes, we needed some really beautiful scenes with just the three brothers sharing all of their feelings, like total dumb-dumbs,” he explained. “So we wrote those things in.”
Campbell said he knew he wanted to give Margaret Colin, who plays the Brenner boys’ mom, Barbara, a few key moments, “because Margaret is so extraordinary, and mom needed to yell at somebody!”
For that, Campbell looked particularly to Sustad, 38, noting that the actress is “so extraordinary at writing everything” related to Barbara. He also knew some “big set pieces” to “destroy” were a must — remember the school play for the first sequel? — as was making sure certain characters made some surprise returns.
“And you know, I think we hit most of those marks,” he teased.
As for bringing fresh perspectives to a third film, Campbell praised Hynes for his creative and collaborative input. “Tyler is extraordinary. So many of [the movie’s] great beats, particularly with [his character] Taylor, but he’ll throw ideas out for everybody, and a lot of the blocking, which is really such an interesting part of this too, is actually conceived by Tyler,” Campbell revealed. “You can write the group stands in the kitchen having a conversation, but the way that that scene moves around, a lot of that is Tyler. He’s got such an incredible sense of how to block these scenes, to make them really dynamic.”
Ultimately, Campbell said that it’s “best idea wins” when on set, which is an exciting approach when there are so many “really talented, creative, funny people” around. “There’s no shortage of ideas and improv, and it’s just chaos, and somehow it all works,” he told Us.
When it came to stepping back on set for the last time, Campbell said there was a mix of emotions: “It felt epic, it felt daunting, it felt exciting and it felt joyous to look across the room and see two of the most handsome men on television staring into my eyes questioning whether they made the right decision to make a movie with me,” Campbell joked, calling all three films the “biggest joy” of his life. “If you’re in this life, and you can make good things with good people, you’ve done it. And in this case, I think we’ve done it.”
Campbell admitted that there was some “pressure” to “deliver” something that felt worthy of fans’ love, as finales are always “challenging” in how “polarizing” they can be. “Sometimes fans really get on board. Sometimes they miss the mark, and we felt we wanted to nail it,” he said.
Once the trio got on set, however, all the nerves subsided.
“We kind of forgot about all of that and just got lost in the joy of making the movie,” he confessed. “But I’d be lying if I said we didn’t shed a little tear as a group .On the final cut, after the final scene, we all had a big hug and it was pretty emotional. We’ve been with this family for four years.”
Hynes, for his part, reflected on how much it has meant to him to watch his “friends grow and navigate” professionally alongside of him in what “I can only tell you are challenging waters to create lovely pieces of work and craftsmanship.”
“Watching them grow as human beings has been my greatest joy and honor,” he told Us. “It means the world. It is my greatest joy to watch, and it is the best Countdown to Christmas ever.”
Campbell echoed Hynes’ sentiment, noting that the franchise has “completely changed” his life and the “direction of his career.”
What’s a Hallmark Movie Set Like? Us Visits ‘Three Wiser Men and a Boy’
“It has changed how I’m seen at the network, how I’m received by audiences. I am incredibly grateful, and I’m not just saying that for the friendships that I’ve built and the love that I’ve found with this group of people,” he said. “I would go to the end of the earth for these people, and I hope that I do. I have genuinely found a community and been re inspired and as a creator, found something so extraordinary, and with this network. I wouldn’t be where I am as an artist, or as a creator, without this franchise and without the extraordinary people that we’ve gathered along the way.”
Three Wisest Men premieres on Hallmark Channel Saturday, November 15.
