Johnny English 3 confirmed; Rowan Atkinson to reprise role as Bond parody spy

It has been confirmed that 2003 British spy comedy Johnny English will have a third installment. For a third time, audiences will see Rowan Atkinson play a bumbling spy in a film that is set to release in 2018.[caption id="attachment_3473588" align="alignleft" width="380"] Rowan Atkinson as Johnny Cash. Image from Facebook[/caption]While the cast has not been confirmed yet, pre-production on Johnny English 3 has already begun. The Johnny English franchise is a parody of the James Bond concept, and uses comedy similar to the Mr Bean franchise. Atkinson's character initially made an appearance in commercials, and then the concept was turned into a film.Johnny English 3 is a sequel to the second film Johnny English Reborn, which starred Dominic West, Gillian Anderson and Rosamund Pike apart from Atkinson. The first film featured Natalie Imbruglia, Ben Miller and John Malkovich in lead roles.  While the first installment was directed by Peter Howitt, the second was directed by Oliver Parker.Despite receiving average to negative reviews, this franchise has been a hit at the box office, grossing $160 million.Rowan Atkinson was last seen in Top Funny Comedian, which was being touted as China's answer to The Hangover. In it, he played his classic character Mr Bean. This character is known as Foolish Bean in China, and earned a large fan following after the release of Mr Bean's Holiday.Johnny English 3 will hit screens on 12 October, 2018.