Bridget Jones 4: What to expect as Renée Zellweger returns in sequel based on Mad About Boy book

The new movie is set to include a ‘devastating twist’

Fans of Bridget Jones have cause to celebrate after it was confirmed a fourth instalment of the beloved franchise is arriving on Valentine’s Day in 2025.

The cultural phenomenon that was Bridget Jones’s Diary led to unprecedented box office success and an Oscar nomination for its leading actor Renée Zellweger, who played the perpetually single lead.

Based on the 1996 book, Bridget Jones’s Diary by The Independent columnist Helen Fielding, which went on to sell 15 million copies and gave birth to a much-loved British icon, the fourth instalment is rumoured to involve a surprise return for Hugh Grant, as Daniel Cleaver.

The first instalment grossed $282 million at the box office in 2001 with two equally successful movies ensuing. Now, a fourth movie is underway, 23 years after its first release, according to the Mail on Sunday.

Bridget Jones's Diary

Part one follows 32-year-old publicity assistant Jones as she tries to find love and self-confidence while trying to smoke less, drink less, and lose weight. She chaotically battles with affections for two men, eventually ending up with Mark Darcy (played by Pride and Prejudice’s Colin Firth).

Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason followed in 2004 and was equally as successful. Mark and Bridget are together and face a series of challenges to their relationship before they end the movie engaged.

In 2016, fans got an update with Bridget Jones’s Baby as Jones finds herself pregnant and unsure who the father of her baby is following a break up with Mark. The pair marry at the end giving fans the fairytale ending they always wished for.

The last instalment broke UK box office records, earning £8.11 million in its opening weekend – a record for any romantic comedy.

‘It suddenly hit me that I’ve been single for seven years’: Perpetually single Bridget (Renée Zellweger) in ‘Bridget Jones’s Baby’ (Universal)

*Spoilers ahead*

Bridget Jones’s Diary: Mad About the Boy

The latest sequel will be based on the 2013 book Bridget Jones’s Diary: Mad About the Boy, which follows the 51-year-old single mother of two children as she navigates dating in an era of social media and dating apps.

The world has changed since her last hapless quests for a man and the original story follows the comic heroine as she continues to obsesses over her weight, alcohol intake, and calorie count - in a new world filled with new technology and new norms in her 50s.

In the book, we find that Darcy has died tragically in an accident and Bridget finds herself alone. However, according to the Mail on Sunday it is unconfirmed whether the movie will stay true to the books when it comes to his death.

However, the new movie could take a turn in a new direction as writer Helen Fielding remarked on Desert Island Discs that she was “staggered” by what she called “sexism” in the original movies adding: “You couldn’t write that now”.

Rumours have swirled that Bridget’s original love interests Mark Darcy (played by Colin Firth) and Daniel Cleaver (played by Hugh Grant) are to make a special guest appearance in the sequel.

Speaking to Vanity Fair in September 2024, Grant revealed that he agreed to take part in the fourth film after rewriting “some” scenes.

Grant did not reprise his role in the last film, 2016’s Bridget Jones’s Baby, where his character appeared to be killed off, and Bridget becomes pregnant.

The movie instead saw billionaire US love guru Jack Qwant, played by Patrick Dempsey, compete for Bridget against Mark.

Grant said: “I really couldn’t fit my character in - he just didn’t belong, so I stepped aside.”

However, he said that he “loved the script” for the Mad About The Boy, and said it “made me cry, and I wanted to help with this one”.

Hugh Grant and Renée Zellweger in ‘Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason’ (Allstar/Miramax)

“But really there’s no part for Daniel Cleaver in it at all,” Grant added.

“They wanted him in it, and in the end, they’d done something I wasn’t crazy about.”

However, he explained that he was convinced to join the fourth movie when he was given the opportunity to write “some scenes”.

He said: “It’s absolutely the best (book) and I think it’s very funny and very, very moving. I’m not in a lot, I did a week’s work, that’s it ... But when you see the film, you’ll be very moved.”