A fourth film in Rowan Atkinson's spy spoof franchise Johnny English is reportedly set to go into production later this year, six years after the last instalment was released.

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As reported by Screen Daily, the fourth Johnny English film, which will see Atkinson reprise his role, is set to start filming in Malta and the UK in June, although the plot is currently under wraps.

The film is noted to be being produced by Universal Pictures subsidiary Working Title Films, as with the previous instalments.

RadioTimes.com has reached out to Universal Pictures for comment.

The first Johnny English film starred Atkinson, Ben Miller, Natalie Imbruglia and John Malkovich and was released in 2003. This was followed by a sequel Johnny English Reborn, in 2011, which saw a new cast join Atkinson including Gillian Anderson, Dominic West, Rosamund Pike and Daniel Kaluuya.

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The third film, Johnny English Strikes Again, saw Miller return alongside Atkinson and new additions Olga Kurylenko, Jake Lacy and Emma Thompson, and was released in 2018.

Ben Miller, Rowan Atkinson and Natalie Imbruglia in Johnny English
Ben Miller, Rowan Atkinson and Natalie Imbruglia in Johnny English Universal

Atkinson had previously suggested that a fourth film is the franchise was unlikely to ever get made, writing in a Reddit Ask Me Anything session: "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".

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Atkinson was most recently seen in Wonka, playing Father Julius, while his most recent TV role was playing Trevor Bingley in Netflix series Man vs Bee.

Last year, Sir Tony Robinson reprised his role as Baldrick from one of Atkinson's most famous series, Blackadder, for a Comic Relief sketch. This stirred up hope among fans that the series could return.

The BBC's Director of Comedy Jon Petrie addressed this talk of more Blackadder, saying: "I mean, we would always be happy to talk to Richard [Curtis, co-creator]. We haven't spoken to him, but yeah, the door will always be open."

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