Just when you thought it you was safe from that buffoon of a spy from ever making a return – no not Bond but his parody counterpart, Johnny English is marking a return to the big screen as its rumoured pre-production has already begun.
Related: Johnny English Reborn news and premiere interviews
Making his return as English is the comedy stalwart Rowan Atkinson in the titular role but for now that’s all we’re getting as a plot or full cast list are yet to be announced. However, what we do know is that filing is due to commence in the autumn with a release slated for October 2018.
The spoof spy advantage seems to be following a pattern of releasing sequels eight years apart from one another. We last saw Atkinson as English back in 2011 in Johnny English Reborn where After a disastrous mission in Mozambique, he retreated to a Tibetan monastery to try to forget his shame. But when he received an urgent call from MI-7 to lead a mission that only he could handle, English was back in action. Using his questionable combat skills and an assortment of high-tech gadgets, English, along with his new partner, Agent Tucker, had to foil a plot to kill the Chinese premier. This sequel starred Gillian Anderson, Daniel Kaluuya, Rosamund Pike and Dominic West, did better than its predecessor critically and both films combined have been international box office hits and it is believed they have made more than $320 million worldwide.
Atkinson already hinted at the beginning of the year that a third in the spoof Bond franchise could be in the offering ‘we’re hoping to make Johnny English this year, so I certainly haven’t turned my back on comedy.’
Speaking in 2011 Atkinson talked about his love for the spy character. “I was very keen after the first Johnny English movie, which was a good success, to come back to the character some day as I felt as though there was more to do with him. I thought he was a funny character who had some amusing fault lines in him that were worth exploiting more.”
More information about Johnny English 3 will be announced in due course
