Robert De Niro, Ben Stiller, Teri Polo & Blythe Danner In Early Talks To Star In New ‘Meet The Parents’ Film

EXCLUSIVE: Universal Pictures is in the early stages of negotiations for Robert De Niro, Ben Stiller, Teri Polo, and Blythe Danner to reprise their roles in a new Meet the Parents movie.

Within the circle of trust, plot details are kept confidential. The screenplay will be written by John Hamburg, who produced the most recent Little Fockers and co-wrote the first three movies in the franchise. Who is directing has not yet been announced.

Along with Jay Roach, who directed the first two movies and produced the last three, Jane Rosenthal and De Niro will be returning to produce through Tribeca Productions and Delirious Media, respectively. Through Red Hour Films, Stiller and John Lesher will also serve as producers. The project will be managed for the studio by Director of Production Development Jacqueline Garell and Executive Vice President of Production Development Matt Reilly.
Meeting the Parents is a comedy juggernaut that focuses on awkward situations with in-laws. It follows the hilariously awkward and tense relationship between male nurse Greg Focker (Stiller) and his intimidating, ex-CIA father-in-law Jack Byrnes (De Niro), as it changes and remains constant as Greg marries Jack’s daughter, Pam (Polo), and has children with her. Danner plays Dina, Jack’s wife, and is also a main cast member. It’s unclear if Dustin Hoffman and Barbra Streisand, who played Greg’s parents, Bernie and Roz, in several movies, as well as Owen Wilson, who played Pam’s ex-boyfriend, Kevin, will make a comeback.

After receiving positive reviews when it was first released, Meet the Parents made over $330 million worldwide, making it the ninth highest-grossing movie of 2000. The following sequels, Meet the Fockers (2004) and Little Fockers (2010), were also box office hits and contributed to the franchise’s overall gross of more than $1.13 billion.

Barry Levinson’s crime drama Alto Knights, which Warner Bros. releases on March 21, will feature De Niro, who recently starred in Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon and Tony Goldwyn’s Ezra. In the near future, he will also be seen directing Zero Day, a political thriller on Netflix that he executive produces.

These days, Stiller can be seen as Lucifer in Bobby Farrelly’s Dear Santa on Paramount+ and starring in David Gordon Green’s festive comedy Nutcrackers on Hulu. As an actor, he has upcoming roles in Happy Gilmore 2; the pickleball comedy The Dink (which he also produces); and the true-crime film Belly of the Beast, in which he co-stars with Colin Farrell. Additionally, he is still the director and executive producer of Severance on Apple TV+, which premieres on January 17.

Polo has recently worked on Fox’s The Big Leap and Freeform’s Good Trouble. She will next be featured opposite Faye Dunaway in the eerie thriller The Evilry and the comedy Relative Control.

In terms of movies, Danner’s most recent credits include What They Had, Hearts Beat Loud, and Happiness for Beginners. Recently, she has also appeared on television programs including American Gods and Will & Grace.

Hamburg has more experience with Stiller outside of Meet the Parents. He co-wrote the comedic classic Zoolander and directed the movie Along Came Polly. His most recent work was the Netflix buddy comedy Me Time, which starred Mark Wahlberg and Kevin Hart and was written, directed, and produced by him. In addition, he has directed television shows including The Unicorn and starred in comedies like I Love You, Man, and Why Him?

CAA and Grubman represent De Niro. Hamburg by WME and Sloss Eckhouse Dasti Haynes LawCo.; Gersh, McGowan Rodriguez Management, and Kraditor & Haber; Shire Meiselas & Sacks; Stiller by WME and Sloane, Offer, Weber & Dern; and Danner by Anonymous Content.