Bridget Jones set to return in fourth movie based on novel with tragic Mark Darcy twist

The hit rom-com starring Renee Zellweger, Colin Firth and Hugh Grant will begin filming in May

Bridget Jones is set to return to the big screen with filming beginning this spring.

The fourth instalment will begin filming in May, 23 years after the release of the first movie in the rom-com series.

Double Oscar-winning Renee Zellweger will return in the lead role based on the best-selling series by Helen Fielding.

Colin Firth and Hugh Grant, who played love rivals Mark Darcy and Daniel Cleaver in the previous films, are also expected to make a return.

The film will reportedly be based on Fielding’s 2013 novel, Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy, which explores Jones as a 51-year-old single mother to two children, navigating social media and dating apps.

Renee Zellweger as Bridget Jones (Universal)

Zellweger is reportedly looking for a home to live in with her partner, Ant Anstead, whilst she is working on the film.

A movie source told The Mail On Sunday: “Bridget is back and is about to take over London. Filming is being mapped out already and all of the pre-production is in place.”

Zellweger is said to “excited about reprising her role as “She adores the character so much”.

“Bridget Jones fever is expected to sweep across London this spring,” the source added.

The new movie comes eight years after Bridget Jones’s Baby released in cinemas, which ended with Zellweger’s character marrying Mark Darcy (Firth) and discovering he was the father to her child.

Colin Firth and Renee Zellweger in ‘Bridget Jones’s Diary’ (Universal)

Grant did not appear in the third film, as he was presumed to be dead. But at the end of the movie, it was revealed that his character had been found alive after surviving a plane crash.

It is not known if the fourth movie will stay true to the novel, as it is revealed midway through the book that Bridget is a widow and Mark is actually dead.

Creator Fielding previously teased a fourth movie in an interview with the Radio Times, saying: “Every film that gets made is a miracle. I think it’s really difficult to make films and to make them happen and to make them good and we want it to be really good. But I really hope so. I’d love to see it on the screen.”

The first movie, released in 2001, was a Box Office hit, and reeled in £222 million. The last instalment brought in £8.11 million in its opening weekend.