Much-loved film The Railway Children is getting a sequel, and Jenny Agutter is back as Bobby after fifty years!

Studiocanal is making a sequel to The Railway Children and Jenny Agutter is back as Bobby (who was one of the original children of the title). The new film is expected in cinemas on April 1 2022 (dates may change) and also stars Sheridan Smith and Tom Courtenay. Jemma Rodgers is producing for Studiocanal, which owns the rights to the original. Danny Brocklehurst (Brassic) has written the screenplay.

According to the Deadline feature, the sequel will follow a group of children who are evacuated to a Yorkshire village during the Second World War, where they encounter a young soldier who, like them, is far away from home. Shooting is expected to begin next week.

The original film was release in 1970 and is taken from the E Nesbit novel of the same name published in 1906. It tells of how a family copes when the father is arrested as a spy, the family fall on hard times and move from suburban London to Yorkshire. The new film will include shooting locations from the 1970 film. The film starred Dinah Sheridan, Jenny Agutter, Sally Thomsett and Bernard Cribbins. Agutter had previously appeared in a 1968 BBC version of the story.

We’ll keep you posted as production continues and we learn who will play the children in this sequel.