Is Colin Firth in Bridget Jones Mad About the Boy?
11 February 2025, 14:46
Bridget Jones's dashing true love Mark Darcy was played by Colin Firth in the earlier movies – but is he back for Mad About the Boy?
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Mark Darcy has made countless fans swoon over the years thanks to his awkward charm and unwavering love for Bridget Jones.
The human rights barrister, played by Colin Firth, finally married the haphazard news reporter (Renée Zellweger) in the 2016 film Bridget Jones's Baby and the couple welcomed a baby boy called Billy.
Fast forward almost a decade to the latest chapter in the former spinster's life and things look pretty different – she is a mother of two (she and Mark had a baby girl called Mabel), but Bridge is also now a widow.
So what happened to Mark Darcy? How did he die? And is Colin Firth in the 2025 movie Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy?
What happened to Mark Darcy in Bridget Jones?
The fourth film confirms that Bridget's beloved husband and the father of her two children, Mark Darcy, has passed away.
It's thought the human rights lawyer was tragically killed in a landmine accident in Sudan, leaving his wife to raise their two children alone.
Speaking of the moment she told actor Colin Firth of his character's death, author Helen Fielding, who co-wrote the movie, said: "It was literally like making that call to tell someone that someone's died. I had to ask if he was sitting down and if he had someone with him," she told CBC hosts Steven Sabados and Chris Hyndman.
"We were both really upset but at the same time he's really funny and gorgeous and we were laughing as well, because of course no one has died. It's not a real person.
"I think it's a tribute to him, to Colin, that he created this character the people cared about so much."
- Read more: Bridget Jones Mad About the Boy release date, trailer, cast and plot revealed
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Is Colin Firth in Bridget Jones Mad About the Boy?
Despite Mark Darcy meeting a grizzly end, it seems the casting team couldn't part with the beloved character as he does make an appearance in the 2025 film Bridget Jones Mad About the Boy.
But disappointment awaits for those fans hoping the handsome lawyer has somehow come back from the dead.
Colin Firth only reprises his role in Bridget's imagination, making a handful of cameos as a ghostly memory rather than playing a significant part.
- Read more: Renée Zellweger facts: Bridget Jones star's age, partner, nationality and life away from the screen revealed
- Read more: Colin Firth facts: Actor's age, wife, children and movies revealed
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What have the cast said about Mark Darcy's death?
Bridget Jones Mad About the Boy marks the first film in the series without Colin Firth as a main love interest – a fact co-star Renée Zellweger struggled to get her head around.
"It’s so peculiar because of the connection to this character I’ve come to love,” she told Empire.
“I love him. I love this person that Colin plays when we get together again. And I was heartbroken. It was such a peculiar thing to be heartbroken that a fictional character is gone from your life, [but I’ve] gotten to know him since 2000.
"And of course, Colin, he’s an integral part of that experience, and to not share it with him... I won’t lie. I shed some tears. It’s just, I guess, like life. Part of the magic just disappears."
After Bridget Jones creator Helen Fielding broke the news to Colin Firth himself, he reportedly "took it in his stride".
"I've heard I that nearly wept or that I had to process it," he said. "I'm afraid, I tend to find the demise of a fictional character doesn't run very deep," the Oscar-winner told Sky News.
- Read more: Inside Renée Zellweger and Hugh Grant's close friendship as they reunite for final Bridget Jones film
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