Renée Zellweger and Hugh Grant reunite for Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy premiere

Shahana Yasmin
·3-min read
Renée Zellweger and Hugh Grant reunite for Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy premiere

Longtime costars Renée Zellweger and Hugh Grant reunited at the premiere of Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy, more than two decades after the first instalment of the film series was released.

Fans had been eagerly waiting for the fourth film since it was announced last year, when it was confirmed that Zellweger would be reprising her role as the titular and perpetually single Bridget Jones and Hugh Grant would be returning as Daniel Cleaver.

It was also announced that Leo Woodall and Chiwetel Ejiofor would appear in the film.

The first movie in the series, Bridget Jones’s Diary, was released in 2001. It was based on the 1996 book of the same name by The Independent columnistHelen Fielding. The book not only sold 15 million copies, it also gave birth to a British icon.

Sequels Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason and Bridget Jones’s Baby followed in 2004 and 2016, with the three films together grossing over $760m worldwide.

At the premiere, Zellweger wore a black one-shoulder lace dress from Saint Laurent by Anthony Vaccarello while Grant kept it simple in a black suit and white button-up shirt, almost identical to the look he wore to the first premiere.

Hugh Grant and Renee Zellweger (AFP/Getty)
Hugh Grant and Renee Zellweger (AFP/Getty)
Hugh Grant, Renee Zellweger and Colin Firth at the premiere of Bridget Jones’ Diary in April 2001 at London’s Empire Cinema (Getty)
Hugh Grant, Renee Zellweger and Colin Firth at the premiere of Bridget Jones’ Diary in April 2001 at London’s Empire Cinema (Getty)
Hugh Grant, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Helen Fielding, Renee Zellweger, Michael Morris, and Leo Woodall at the French premiere of Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy (AFP/Getty)
Hugh Grant, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Helen Fielding, Renee Zellweger, Michael Morris, and Leo Woodall at the French premiere of Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy (AFP/Getty)

According to an official synopsis, the new film, based on Fielding’s 2013 book, will see Bridget Jones navigate “life as a widow and single mom with the help of her family, friends, and former lover Daniel. Back to work and on the apps, she’s pursued by a younger man and maybe – just maybe – her son’s science teacher”.

Fans of Colin Firth’s Mark Darcy have reason to be upset as he briefly appeared in the trailer, which explained that with his death, he now only existed only in Jones’s memories.

Grant, who didn’t appear in The Edge of Reason, described the script as being “good and moving” in an appearance on The Graham Norton Show but added that he was “crammed in” despite there being “no obvious role” for him.

Recently, Zellweger opened up on her reason for going on an acting hiatus from 2010 to 2016, saying the work felt like a “regurgitation of the same emotional experiences”.

“I was sick of the sound of my own voice,” she told British Vogue. “When I was working, I was like, ‘Oh, my gosh, listen to you. Are you sad again, Renée? Oh, is this your mad voice?’ It was a regurgitation of the same emotional experiences.”

Leo Woodall and Renee Zellweger in Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy (Universal Studios)
Leo Woodall and Renee Zellweger in Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy (Universal Studios)

But she kept busy during her break. “I wrote music and studied international law. I built a house, rescued a pair of older doggies, created a partnership that led to a production company, advocated for and fundraised with a sick friend, and spent a lot of time with family and godchildren and driving across the country with the dogs,” she explained. “I got healthy.”

Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy will be released in cinemas internationally on 12 February 2025 and will be available to stream on Peacock in the US beginning 13 February 2025.

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