Is Renee Zellweger making a comeback as Bridget Jones?
Actor Renee Zellweger poses as she arrives at the Canadian premiere of "Judy" at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on Sept 10, 2019.
PHOTO: Reuters
PUBLISHED ONJuly 23, 2022 5:51 AM
Renee Zellweger is reportedly making a comeback as Bridget Jones - with a son in tow.
The actress, 53, is said to be returning to her famed role as the booze and "massive pants"-obsessed bachelorette for a fourth film in the popular franchise.
It was reported on Friday (July 22) by The Sun producers have been "secretly" working on the project.
Bridget was last on the big screen six years ago when the film 'Bridget Jones' Baby' saw her pregnant and trying to work out who the dad was.
The rumoured upcoming film is understood to have been co-written by creator Helen Fielding, 64, and will see Renee tell the story of motherhood with her boy.
A source said: "There have been few more successful or more popular rom-coms than Bridget Jones over the last couple of decades, but everyone thought this one was done for good.
"However the producers always knew there was a huge market for another sequel when the right story was available, and this feels like the right time to tell it.
"It will be seven or eight years since the last movie by the time this one hits the big screen, and fans will be desperate to find out what happened. It's a British classic."
It turned out in the third Bridget film lawyer Mark Darcy, played by Colin Firth, 61, was the father and not charming new love interest Jack Qwant, portrayed by 56-year-old Patrick Dempsey.
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The film also featured appearances from Jim Broadbent, 73, Emma Thompson, 63, Celia Imrie, 70, as well as a cameo from 31-year-old Ed Sheeran.
Hugh Grant's sleazy character Daniel Cleaver did not make an appearance, but the door is open for his return in the new film as a newspaper headline shown at the conclusion of the last instalment revealed he had been found alive a year after his supposed death.
The films, launched in 2001 and based on the best-selling book Bridget Jones' Diary were beloved for charting the struggles of binge-drinking, chain smoking Bridget as she struggled to find love in her 30s, and have grossed almost £1 billion (S$1.6 billion) at the box office.