Ariana Grande has found her next movie role — starring opposite Ben Stiller and Robert De Niro in Universal’s “Meet the Parents 4.”
Fresh off her Academy Award-nominated performance as Glinda in “Wicked,” Grande continues her relationship with the studio by joining one of its most successful franchises. The “Meet the Parents” movies — the 2000 original film and its sequels “Meet the Fockers” and “Little Fockers” — have accumulated $1.13 billion in global box office.
Plot details for the fourth installment are being kept under wraps, but, in this week’s Variety cover story, producer Jane Rosenthal teased that “Stiller is now the same age that [De Niro] was when we did the first one, and his kids have grown up, and they have to come home and meet the parents.”
John Hamburg, who co-wrote all three prior films, wrote the screenplay and is set to direct the film. Universal will release the film theatrically on Nov. 25, 2026.
Rosenthal and De Niro will produce through Tribeca Productions. Jay Roach will produce through Delirious Media. Stiller and John Lesher will produce through Red Hour Films. Hamburg will produce through Particular Pictures. Executive VP of production development Matt Reilly and director of production development Jacqueline Garell will oversee the project for the studio.
Grande’s casting is a coup, despite the studio’s close ties to the star (“Wicked: For Good,” the hotly anticipated second chapter of Jon M. Chu’s feature adaptation of the Broadway musical with Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba, arrives in theaters on Nov. 21.) Grande, of course, is one of the bestselling music artists of all time, with her pop music career marked by nine Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 hits and two Grammy wins (from 15 nominations), among other accolades. Now, as an actor, Grande is not only an Oscar nominee (earning one of the film’s 10 nominations) but also has recognition from the Golden Globes, SAG, and BAFTA.
Grande is repped by CAA, Good World Management, The Lede Company and Myman Greenspan Fox Rosenberg & Light LLP.
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From Variety US