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Posted in: Movies, Universal | Tagged: film, focker in-law, meet the fockers, meet the parents, Universal Pictures
Focker In-Law Producer on Ariana Grande and Skyler Gisondo's Roles
Producer Jay Roach says Ariana Grande stirs up trouble in the upcoming film Focker In-Law, which is set within the Meet the Parents franchise.
Article Summary
- Focker In-Law brings Ben Stiller and Robert De Niro back for a fourth Meet the Parents franchise film in 2026.
- Ariana Grande and Skyler Gisondo join as fresh comedic energy, stirring up hilarious new family chaos.
- Producer Jay Roach teases Grande’s character as “trouble” for both the Fockers and Byrnes families this time.
- Directed by John Hamburg, Focker In-Law promises multigenerational laughs with returning cast and pop star power.
Two and a half decades after Greg Focker first "met the parents," Universal is moving ahead with a fourth film, currently titled Focker In-Law, written and directed by franchise architect John Hamburg. Longtime leads Ben Stiller and Robert De Niro are back, with Blythe Danner, Teri Polo, and Owen Wilson also returning. And this time, new additions include Ariana Grande and Skyler Gisondo.
For context, the series launched with Meet the Parents (2000), directed by Jay Roach, a culture-clash comedy about male nurse Greg (Stiller) disastrously navigating a visit with his girlfriend Pam's ex-CIA father, Jack Byrnes (De Niro). It became a breakout hit, spinning off Meet the Fockers (2004) and Little Fockers (2010). Across the trilogy, the films have grossed over $1.1 billion worldwide and minted durable pop-culture touchstones along the way. As expected, this new chapter keeps the familial friction front and center. Hamburg, who wrote on the original trilogy and is now at the helm, has assembled a multigenerational ensemble that positions Greg and Pam's now-grown kids as catalysts for fresh chaos.
Focker In-Law Producer on New Additions
Producer (and original director) Roach teased the energy he's seeing on set, especially from the new duo, in a recent interview with Screen Rant, admitting they are doing "Amazing. They're really funny. [Grande] is such a great new force in the story. I won't reveal what her background is, but she's trouble for the Byrnes and the Fockers for Ben Stiller's family in a great way. She's really funny. Skyler's great too. I didn't know his stuff so much, and I've just been watching the dailies, and he plays Ben Stiller's son, and he's with Ariana Grande as a duo, and they're electric. They're really good. So yeah, bodes well. John Hamburg is directing it … he's hilarious. So it's going to be a killer."
As a package, Focker In-Law looks like a logical extension of what made the original films travel: escalating misunderstandings, status anxiety, and the weaponization of politeness. With Hamburg steering, Roach producing, the core players returning, and pop-magnet casting in the mix, the franchise that helped define 2000s studio comedy is aiming for one more holiday-season crowd-pleaser, with a theatrical release set for November 25, 2026.
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