There’s a new ‘Meet the Parents’ film in the works with Ben Stiller and Robert De Niro

We will be watching this. “Meet the Parents,” the beloved 2000 comedy that begat sequels “Meet the Fockers” and “Little Fockers,” has a third sequel in the works, Deadline reports. 

Stars Ben Stiller, Robert De Niro, Teri Polo, and Blythe Danner are reportedly in early talks to return for the fourth film in the franchise, which follows Greg Focker (Stiller) as he navigates his relationship with his wife Pam (Teri Polo) and her parents, Dina (Danner) and intimidating former CIA agent Jack (De Niro). Plot details are being kept in a circle of trust, but John Hamburg, who co-wrote the first three films, is writing the script. No director has been attached yet, nor have any of the franchise’s other cast members, which include Owen Wilson as Pam’s ex-fiancé and Dustin Hoffman and Barbra Streisand as Greg’s parents. 

Universal is the studio behind the project. De Niro and Jane Rosenthal, Stiller and John Lesher, Jay Roach (who directed “Meet the Parents” and “Meet the Fockers” and produced all three films), are producers. 

The “Meet the Parents” trilogy was one of the most successful comedy franchises of the 2000s. The three films, which were released between 2000 and 2010, collectively grossed over $1 billion at the box office. 

If the film comes together, it will be Stiller’s most prominent role in front of the camera in years, as he’s spent much of the past decade focused on directing and producing, most notably on the Apple TV+ series “Severance.” The holiday comedy film “Nutcrackers,” which was recently released on Hulu, is his first lead role since 2017. 

De Niro was nominated for an Academy Award last year for his performance in “Killers of the Flower Moon” and will next be seen in the Netflix series “Zero Day,” his first regular TV role.