(SPOILERS from the fourth Bridget Jones novel will be found below.)
Romcoms have been having a moment lately due to Sydney Sweeney, Glen Powell, Blake Lively, and Justin Baldoni, no doubt about it. So it might be a fantastic time for a 1990s romcom institution, Helen Fielding’s Bridget Jones, to make her post-Mark Darcy comeback with Renee Zellweger reprising the lead role. Heck, The Times once reckoned that “Bridget Jones could be described as the first rom com anti-heroine,” which could bode well for a fourth movie when escapism is sorely needed amid current events. (Seriously, try and watch this fight scene without cracking a smile. Not possible.)
The fourth movie, Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy, is indeed on the way, mostly without Mark Darcy as confirmed a new trailer and with Bridget as a single mum of their two children for the past four years (in movie time). What happened to Mr. Darcy (2.0 for Austenites)?
The corresponding 2013 book revealed that Mark, a human rights lawyer, met his end in a landmine explosion. According to author Helen Fielding, Firth was rather upset to hear of his character’s death, and although Firth does make a trailer cameo, there will be a Mark Darcy-sized void in London.
No wonder Hugh Grant recently called the fourth film “very, very sad” in addition to being “extremely funny.” He also added that Daniel Cleaver’s appearance in the movie makes little sense, yet “they wanted to cram me in.” Fortunately, the trailer does not suggest that Bridget wants to hook up with Daniel again, but she does move onto the dating app world at the urging of her friends (including the gloriously profane Shazzer). And the trailer makes it pretty clear that the 50-something Bridget gets busy with a 29-year-old man portrayed by Leo Woodall, who is also having a moment in real life.
A synopsis fills in a few blanks:
Pressured by her Urban Family – Shazzer, Jude and Tom, her work colleague Miranda, her mother, and her gynecologist Dr. Rawlings — to forge a new path toward life and love, Bridget goes back to work and even tries out the dating apps, where she’s soon pursued by a dreamy and enthusiastic younger man. Now juggling work, home and romance, Bridget grapples with the judgment of the perfect mums at school, worries about Billy as he struggles with the absence of his father, and engages in a series of awkward interactions with her son’s rational-to-a-fault science teacher.
The movie will not only see the return of Renee Zellweger and Hugh Grant but also the “urban family” portrayed by Sally Phillips (as Shazzer), James Calls (as Tom), and Shirley Henderson (as Jude). Jim Broadbent and Gemma Jones will also be back as Bridget’s parents. New cast additions include not only Leo Woodall but Emma Thompson, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Isla Fisher.
Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy will stream via Peacock on Feb. 13, 2025.
