Slated for release in 2025, the fourth Bridget Jones’ Diary movie has been confirmed to begin turning in May, with pre-production well underway.
Original cast to return
Fans will be pleased to know Oscar-nominated Renée Zellweger is set to return to our screens, ten years on from her last incarnation of lovably hapless Bridget, alongside appearances from heartthrobs Colin Firth and – intriguingly – Hugh Grant, whose character was killed off in the last film.
An unnamed source told British press, “Renée is excited about bringing Bridget back. She adores the character so much.” After Barbie fever swept the world in 2023, “Bridget Jones fever is expected to sweep across London this spring,” the source added.
“Devastating twist”
The last instalment saw the death of Hugh Grant’s character Daniel Cleaver. It broke box office records in the UK, grossing £8.11 million in its opening weekend, more than any other romantic comedy. To follow that, the new film’s plot also involves another “devastating twist”, according to a production insider.
Most of the plot remains a well-kept secret but the writer behind the original bestselling novel and box office hits, Helen Fielding, let slip two years ago that she had been working on a movie adaptation of Mad About the Boy, her 2013 sequel to the Bridget Jones franchise.
That book imagines Jones as a widow and single mum of two children, following another death – that of her husband Darcy (played by Firth in the films). It goes straight back to form with Bridget re-entering and navigating the world of dating in her fifties, as well as contending with social media and singles’ apps.
Too “sexist” to write now
Superfans may be on the lookout for some differences in tone however, between the original films and the next Bridget. Interviewed on British radio, Fielding admitted she had been surprised looking back on the first works and realising how “sexist” they were. “You couldn’t write that now”, she said, hinting that the new adaptation may subvert at least some tropes of the rom-com genre.
Fielding has reportedly called the making of her films a “miracle”. Speaking to Radio Times about the new movie project, she said, “I think it’s really difficult to make films and to make them happen and to make them good and we want it to be really good. But I really hope so. I’d love to see it on the screen.”
