We only recently covered the return of another beloved early 2000s romcom starring Hugh Grant and Colin Firth… but while the Love Actually reunion is only a cast get-together, the next installment of Bridget Jones will be a fully-fledged movie. Bridget Jones 4 (as it’s currently known) is in the works, with a script currently being written up by original Bridget author Helen Fielding. It’s not been officially greenlit- but it’s almost a surefire certainty, especially since Renée Zellweger is reportedly on board to return.
Believe it or not, its already been six years since everyone made a fuss about Bridget’s return for a new film with Bridget Jones’ Baby, which released over a decade after the previous film. That film, released in 2016, saw Bridget shocked when she found out she was pregnant, and ended with her marrying Mark (Colin Firth), the QC who she had had on and off feelings for across the three films so far, and revealed that he was the father to her baby. Despite also developing feelings for Jack Qwant (played by Patrick Dempsey) and being torn between him and Mark, she remains friends with Jack and he is later a guest at her wedding. There’s also a newspaper tease at the end that Daniel Cleaver (played by Hugh Grant in Bridget Jones’ Diary and The Edge of Reason) had been found alive (having been presumed dead at the start of the film).
So, considering things seemed to wrap up well for her (as she herself mentions), where next for Bridget? Somewhat confusingly, this film will apparently be adapted from elements of the third Bridget Jones novel, Mad About The Boy, which was published before the novel of Bridget Jones’ Baby. How much it will follow the book is unknown- the original novel (possible spoilers?) begins with Bridget as a widower, with Mark having died a few years prior, and Bridget now raising young children, as well as trying to get back into the world of dating, with all that now comes with it, like dating apps and social media. Again, it’s not known how close an adaptation it’ll be, so don’t wave goodbye to Colin Firth’s QC just yet – but would it be Bridget Jones if she wasn’t single?
More info and possibly a release date may materialise next year, but for now keep your fingers crossed that Bridget will once again be making her way on to the big screen – Fielding told the Radio Times that “every film that gets made is a miracle — it’s really difficult to make films happen and to make them good. But I’d love to see it on the screen.”
RELEASE DATE IS YET TO BE ANNOUNCED.
By The Handbook
Actually looking forward to this
