Depending on how many courses she ordered, it’s possible Renee Zellweger's recent dinner with Bradley Cooper could be considered "research."

The Oscar-winner is expected to reprise her role -- and wreak havoc on her metabolism -- as Bridget Jones, as Variety reports a third installment of the chick flick franchise is in development.

Getting around the tricky little fact that there's only two Bridget Jones books to crib daily calorie counts and Austen-inspired plot twists from, Variety speculates the third Bridget Jones will be based on a series of columns the books' author Helen Fielding wrote for The Independent in 2005.

Judging by Fielding’s columns, you can expect the plump singleton to go baby crazy in movie three. If so, we're thinking Bridget's nightly struggle to keep her mitts off the Chardonnay may prove to be a central point of conflict. And, oh, probably something about a ticking biological clock. V. V. Lame.

As for Zellweger, she's got plenty of time to make some food babies. Variety says production isn't expected to begin until the end of next year.

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