The fourth entry in the Meet the Parents comedy franchise has reportedly cast pop star Ariana Grande to co-lead alongside returning cast members Robert De Niro and Ben Stiller.
The news comes months after Grande, 31, landed her first Oscar nomination for her supporting role as Glinda in Jon M. Chu’s critically acclaimed Wicked.
Reports about the untitled sequel broke in December 2024. De Niro later confirmed the project earlier this year. The forthcoming movie will be the first time De Niro and Stiller have worked together since the romcom series’ third movie, Little Fockers (2010).
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Meet the Parents 4 will center around the adult son of Stiller’s Greg and his wife, Pamela (Teri Polo), who gets engaged to a woman completely wrong for him. Grande will play the fiancée, sources told the outlet.
Polo and Blythe Danner, both of whom starred in the first three movies, are also expected to return.
John Hamburg, who co-wrote all three of the original movies, has written the screenplay for the new film. He will also helm it. Meanwhile, Jay Roach, the director of the initial two titles, Meet the Parents (2000) and Meet the Fockers (2004), is attached as a producer. De Niro and Jane Rosenthal will also act as producers through their Tribeca Productions, while Stiller and John Lesher will produce via their Red Hour Films banner.
Universal Pictures has scheduled Meet the Parents 4 to be released in theaters on November 25, 2026.
The first movie in the comedy franchise, Meet the Parents, grossed over $300 million at the worldwide box office. It followed Greg’s nightmarish first visit to his girlfriend’s (Polo) parents’ house. During the visit, he plans to propose to Pamela, but soon finds himself on the wrong side of her father, Jack (De Niro).
Next came Meet the Fockers (2004), which picked up after Greg’s finally on the “in” with Pamela’s family. However, that quickly changes when Greg introduces his parents to Pamela’s. That film made $522.6 million at the worldwide box office.
The third sequel, Little Fockers, premiered in 2010, raking in a total of $310 million at the worldwide box office. It featured a 10-year time jump and followed the chaos that ensues at Greg and Pam’s twins’ birthday party after Jack becomes suspicious of Greg’s involvement with a drug company.
Though Grande is best known for her incredible vocal range, showcased in her hit songs like “twilight zone” and “we can’t be friends (wait for your love),” she was first a teen actor, starring in Nickelodeon’s Victorious and Sam & Cat.
However, it wasn’t until her standout portrayal of Glinda, opposite Cynthia Erivo’s Elphaba in the Oscar-nominated 2024 Wicked, that she solidified her status as a serious actor.
