A fourth film featuring Renée Zelwegger’s Bridget Jones is officially in development – but there’s one cast member who seemingly won’t be coming back, much to fans’ disappointment. On Tuesday, April 9 production company Working Title Films confirmed that the new Bridget Jones flick would be called Mad About A Boy and some of the cast of the previous films are returning.

Joining Zelwegger to reprise his role as Daniel Cleaver is Hugh Grant, who was notably absent from the third instalment, Bridget Jones’ Baby, in 2016. Emma Thompson, who serves as co-writer, also returns.

Newcomers to the cast will include Chiwetel Ejiofor (Rob Peace) and Leo Woodall (The White Lotus). But there’s one cast member who was nowhere to be seen in the initial announcement: Colin Firth’s character Mark Darcy.

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At the end of the third film Bridget seemingly found her "forever" man when she wed Mark – but now it seems that heartbreak is set to strike for the character created by British writer Helen Fielding.

Responding to the news on social media platform X, formerly Twitter, one person said: “What about Colin!!!!!” A second echoed: “MrDarcy?”, sharing a photo of Firth’s character from the films.

A third wrote: “What about Colin Firth - Mark Darcy has to be in the film,” while another simply commented: “Dead,” suggesting their theory on what happens to Darcy.

The original film, Bridget Jones’s Diary, was released in 2001, with follow-ups Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason and Bridget Jones’s Baby arriving in 2004 and 2016, respectively. The three films together grossed over $760m worldwide. Introduced in Bridget Jones’s Baby as Jones’s OB/GYN, Dr. Rawling, Emma Thompson also co-wrote the screenplay for that film.

Based on the third book in Fielding’s series, Mad About the Boy picks up with Bridget in her early fifties, as she navigates the challenges of modern life while juggling the responsibilities of motherhood. No word yet as to who Ejiofor and Woodall will be playing. Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, and Jo Wallett will produce through Working Title Films, with Working Title’s Amelia Granger and Sarah-Jane Wright exec producing alongside Fielding.

Bridget Jones: Mad About A Boy is set to release in cinemas on Valentine's Day 2025. You can keep up to date with the latest TV and showbiz news by signing up to the newsletter here.