Renee Zellweger to Return for Bridget Jones 4 With Hugh Grant

Universal Pictures and Working Title have officially confirmed that Renée Zellweger is set to reprise her role in the fourth installment of the "Bridget Jones" series, titled "Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy." The film is scheduled for release in 2025.

Hugh Grant, known for his role as Daniel Cleaver in the first two "Bridget Jones" movies, will return for the upcoming installment, USA Today reported. Joining the cast is Emma Thompson.

Additionally, Chiwetel Ejiofor from the 2019 film "The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind" and Leo Woodall from Netflix's "One Day" series are set to star in the film.

Helming the project is director Michael Morris, known for "To Leslie."

Adapted from Helen Fielding's novel, the first romantic comedy, "Bridget Jones's Diary," premiered in 2001, featuring Zellweger in the lead role of a 32-year-old single woman on a mission of self-improvement, which she documented in her diary entries.

A sequel, "Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason," followed in 2004. More than a decade later, in 2016, the franchise continued with "Bridget Jones's Baby."

The upcoming fourth installment of the Bridget Jones franchise will draw inspiration from Helen Fielding's 2013 novel, titled "Mad About the Boy." Fielding shared her hopes of adapting the book into a film during an interview with Radio Times in 2022, stating, "I'm working on it, and I really hope it will happen."

In a previous interview with USA Today in 2013, Fielding said "Mad About the Boy" had the potential to be a compelling movie and shared her hopes for Zellweger to reprise her role as Bridget Jones.

"Yes, she's wonderful," Fielding said at the time.

This marks the first time Zellweger will reprise her role as Bridget Jones since winning her second Academy Award, an Oscar for Best Actress for her portrayal of Judy Garland in the 2019 film "Judy." Notably, Zellweger earned an Oscar nomination for her performance in the original "Bridget Jones's Diary."