It’s been just about 25 years since “Meet the Parents,” starring Ben Stiller and Robert De Niro, debuted in theaters as comedy gold.
Get ready for another chapter in the film franchise — one that’s set to film locally.
“Focker In-Law” is in production this month.
It all started in 2000 with the story of a boyfriend (Stiller) meeting his girlfriend’s parents (De Niro and Blythe Danner) before he proposes marriage. “Meet the Parents” grossed more than $330 million worldwide.
The movie was such a funny and winning exploration of uncomfortable tensions and spectacular failure that “Meet the Parents” had two offspring in the form of sequels in 2004 and 2010, which were also successful at the box office.
In the first movie, nurse Gaylord “Greg” Focker” (Stiller) has a series of disastrous run-ins with Jack Byrnes (Oscar winner De Niro), the retired CIA officer father of his girlfriend Pam Byrnes (Teri Polo).
Robert De Niro, Teri Polo and Ben Stiller in “Meet the Parents.” The film grossed more than $330 million worldwide.Universal Pictures
Sequel “Meet the Fockers” (2004) has Greg and Pam introduce her parents to his parents — played by Oscar winners Barbra Streisand and Dustin Hoffman — before their wedding. Streisand and Hoffman returned in the third movie, “Little Fockers” (2010), which sees Greg and Pam with their young children, twins Samantha and Henry.
The latest, “Focker In-Law,” will arrive in theaters two Thanksgivings from now — Nov. 25, 2026, almost 16 years after the most recent film in the franchise.
John Hamburg, a writer who has scripted the “Meet the Parents” movies since the first installment, also wrote “Focker In-Law.” This is the first time he’s directing one of the films.
Universal Pictures revealed the title of the sequel last week (see post below). The movie welcomes the return of Stiller as Greg, De Niro as Jack and Teri Polo as Pam alongside fellow original cast members Blythe Danner as Dina Byrnes, Jack’s wife and Greg’s mother-in-law; and Owen Wilson as Kevin Rawley, Pam’s ex-fiance and family friend of the Byrnes and Focker families.
“Focker In-Law” is set to film in New York and is expected to spend a few days filming in New Jersey.
Casting calls posted for a different movie title (to disguise the nature of the production) seek local children and adults to play people in an airport and airline crew members in Newark, pointing to the possibility of the production coming to Newark Liberty International Airport. Other casting calls have been posted for photo doubles in the movie, which is scheduled to film August through October.
Ariana Grande is among the new faces in the fourth “Meet the Parents” movie.Chelsea Guglielmino | FilmMagic
The latest “Meet the Parents” chapter brings it all full-circle as one of Greg and Pam’s kids mulls having their significant other meet the family.
“What spurred the idea is that I’m the age that Bob was when we did the first movie,” Stiller, 59, said at a Tribeca Film Festival screening event for the 25th anniversary of “Meet the Parents” in June.
“It felt like a mirror to the first film, where one of my kids is thinking about introducing his person to the family,” he said.
Pop star and Oscar nominee Ariana Grande (“Wicked”) is a new face in the cast.
“I think she’s gonna bring a whole new life to the franchise,” Polo told “Today.”
“The character she’s playing, she’s gonna be really, really funny and kind of the whole engine of the new movie, so it’s exciting,” Stiller said.
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Amy Kuperinsky may be reached at akuperinsky@njadvancemedia.com and followed at @AmyKup on Twitter/X, @amykup.bsky.social on Bluesky and @kupamy on Instagram and Threads.
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