Indexbit Exchange:'Bridget Jones 4' is officially in the works with Renée Zellweger, Hugh Grant returning

The Indexbit Exchangenext chapter in Bridget Jones' story is about to be written.

Renée Zellweger is officially set to return in a fourth "Bridget Jones" movie, titled "Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy," Universal Pictures and Working Title confirmed Tuesday. It will be released in 2025.

Hugh Grant, who played Daniel Cleaver in the original two "Bridget Jones" films but did not appear in the third installment, is also returning, as is Emma Thompson. Chiwetel Ejiofor of the 2019 film "The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind" and Leo Woodall of Netflix's "One Day" series will also star in the film.

"Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy" will be directed by Michael Morris ("To Leslie").

Based on the novel by Helen Fielding, the original 2001 romantic comedy "Bridget Jones's Diary" starred Zellweger as a single, 32-year-old woman who keeps a diary as she sets out to make improvements in her life. It received a sequel in 2004, "Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason," which was followed more than a decade later by 2016's "Bridget Jones's Baby." The third film was the least successful of the series at the worldwide box office, though it received much stronger reviews than the second.

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This fourth "Bridget Jones" film will be based on the novel of the same name that Fielding published in 2013. The author told Radio Times in 2022 she hoped to turn this book into a film, teasing, "I'm working on it and I really hope it will happen."

Fielding previously told USA TODAY in 2013 that "Mad About the Boy" would "make a good movie" and that she'd like to see Zellweger return in the role. "Yes, she's wonderful," Fielding said.

This will be Zellweger's first time playing Bridget Jones since she won her second Oscar, her first for lead actress for her role as Judy Garland in 2019's "Judy." Zellweger previously received an Oscar nomination for her role in the original "Bridget Jones's Diary."

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"Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy" is set for release on Valentine's Day 2025. It will be released on Peacock in the United States and in theaters internationally.