Rowan Atkinson ‘to bring back iconic comedy character’ after 6 years-Tori Brazier-Entertainment – Metro

Comedy star Rowan Atkinson is said to be coming back for a fourth film in his popular spy franchise (Picture: Shutterstock)

Rowan Atkinson is set to bring back one of his most iconic screen characters following reports of a fourth Johnny English film.

The 69-year-old actor has previously played the titular hapless secret agent in three movies in the spy spoof franchise: the 2003 original, 2011’s Johnny English Reborn and 2018’s Johnny English Strikes Again.

Now, six years later, he is said to have signed a deal to play the role once more, despite previously suggesting it was doubtful, with filming set to begin later this year.

The movie will be shooting from June in the UK and Malta, but the plot details are being kept under wraps, according to Screen Daily.

Details about the project are largely unknown, but Working Titles Films is lined up to produce for the fourth time.

While promoting the third movie in the series, which he starred in alongside Dame Emma Thompson and Ben Miller, the Mr Bean icon admitted he thought a fourth installment would be unlikely.

Atkinson has had strong box office performances from the previous three Johnny English movies (Picture: Future Films/Kobal/Rex/Shutterstock)

The Mr Bean star will reportedly begin shooting Johnny English 4 in June (Picture: Giles Keyte/Focus Features/Kobal/Rex/Shutterstock)

Speaking during a Reddit AMA (Ask Me Anything), he responded to a fan’s question over a return: ‘I doubt it but thank you very much for implying you’d like to see another one.’

‘But at the same time… never say never,’ Atkinson – who was most recently seen in Wonka – added, in what appears to have been a prescient move.

The Johnny English character was originally introduces as bumbling spy character who works for MI7 that he performed for a series of adverts for Barclaycard in the 1990s.

Explaining the leap to movies in the same AMA, Atkinson said: ‘I co-created it for myself. And then we wrote a good enough script for the character for us to be allowed to make the first Johnny English film.’

He had previously suggested a return was ‘doubtful’ (Picture: Moviestore/Rex/Shutterstock)

He had previous comedy success with historical sitcom Blackadder in the 1980s, as well as the global television phenomenon of Mr Bean, which spawned an animated series and two feature films, the last of which – Mr Bean’s Holiday – came out in 2007.

Despite a mixed critical reception, the first Johnny English film grossed $160million on a $40m budget, with the follow-ups also achieving similar numbers.

Atkinson has also made two film spin-offs starring Mr Bean (Picture: Universal/Working Title/Kobal/Rex/Shutterstock)

During King Charles’ coronation in May last year, 140,000 viewers opted to watch Johnny English Strikes Again on television over the millions tuning in for the historic event.

In 2022, Atkinson had nine episodes of his project Man Vs Bee land on Netflix, which he revealed had its roots in Mr Bean, as an extension of a sketch from the 1990s.

Metro.co.uk has contacted reps for Rowan Atkinson and Working Title for comment.

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