The New Bridget Jones Movie Is Bringing Back Hugh Grant

Nearly 25 years ago, Bridget Jones’s Diary set a new rom-com standard by pairing the swoon-worthy romance of Pride and Prejudice with the frank, relatable musings of a woman exhausted (and embarrassed) by the throes of modern dating.

Like a solar eclipse or new Beyoncé album, the rom-com heroine returns when the world needs her most. After sequels The Edge of Reason and Bridget Jones’s Baby, a fourth film is officially on the way.

The next installment, Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy, will arrive on Valentine’s Day next year, according to Deadline. Fortunately, there’s already plenty of information about the sequel — and Team Darcy may not be pleased.

Wait, What Is The New Bridget Jones About?

While there aren’t any specific plot details or teasers to theorize about, Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy is based on Helen Fielding’s 2013 novel of the same name — and the plot holds a pretty significant clue about what to expect. Specifically, as The Hollywood Reporter notes, the book follows Bridget Jones as a single, widowed mother.

Yes, Mark Darcy dies.

As Fielding told British Vogue in 2013, the sad development was true to the “tragicomic element” of her writing. “The happy ending is just where you choose to end a book,” she said (via the Daily Mail). “Life, with all its twists and turns, carries on beyond it.”

Colin Firth Might Not Return

Fielding wrote the script for the upcoming film, so it seems likely the fourth Bridget Jones will stick close to its source material and say farewell to Mark Darcy, who married (and welcomed a child with) Bridget in the last film.

Notably, Colin Firth wasn’t included in the cast announcement — but surely there’s room for a Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again-esque cameo from beyond the grave, no? Until then, fans were devastated by the prospect of a Firth-less Bridget Jones sequel. “COLIN FIRTH WHERE ARE YOUUUUUU,” wrote one user on X (formerly Twitter). Another simply said “no thank you” to the sequel altogether.

If you’re heartbroken to part ways with Firth’s Darcy, the rest of the cast might lift your spirits. In addition to Renée Zellwegger as the titular heroine, Hugh Grant will reprise his role as Daniel Cleaver. (ICYMI, his character was presumed dead during Bridget Jones’s Baby, until a newspaper clipping in the final seconds of the film revealed he was still alive.)

There are other additions to be excited about, too. Emma Thompson is also returning from Bridget Jones’s Baby, while Chiwetel Ejiofor and Leo Woodall join the franchise.

While 2016’s Baby might have seemed like a happy, natural ending to Bridget’s story, Zellwegger has been open about her desire to continue the hilarious, heartfelt saga. “Man, I’d love the experience of revisiting her,” the Oscar winner told Vanity Fair in 2020. “I love her. I just think she’s so much fun. She’s the best.”