<i>Focker-In-Law</i>: What We Know About the Next <i>Meet the Parents</i> Sequel

After the roaring success that was Wicked: Part One, Ariana Grande is at last committed to her next cinematic endeavor—and though the project comes from Wicked’s studio home, it perhaps isn’t the most obvious choice for a recent Oscar nominee and global pop icon. Nevertheless, make no mistake...Grande recognizes beloved IP when she sees it. Thus her latest news: The “we can’t be friends” singer will join the cast of the next Meet the Parents sequel, called Focker-In-Law, set to drop in 2026.

According to Deadline, “Grande has had her fair share of scripts come her way” in Wicked’s wake. “Ultimately,” the outlet reported, “her strong ties to the studio led her back to the lot on a project Universal is excited about.”

2025 marks the 25th anniversary of Meet the Parents, which starred Ben Stiller as Greg Focker, who meets his girlfriend’s parents, Jack (Robert De Niro) and Dina Byrnes (Teri Polo) over an eventful wedding weekend on Long Island. The comedy was a box-office success later followed by Meet the Fockers (2004) and Little Fockers (2010), helping the franchise gross $1.13 billion worldwide in total, per Deadline.

Universal is currently keeping Grande’s character and the film’s plot specifics under wraps. But Deadline confirms that much of the original cast will return for the next outing, including Stiller, De Niro, Polo, and Blythe Danner. John Hamburg, who co-wrote the three Meet the Parents predecessors, wrote the script and is also directing.

On July 12, 2025, Grande shared a carousel of photos on Instagram, which included a shot taken at a table read on June 17 for the new film, indicating things are happening.

On Oct. 31, 2025, Grande celebrated wrapping on the film with a carousel of behind-the-scenes photos. In the caption, she wrote, “these past few months have been so, so unimaginably special. i love my Fockers, and i love my Byrnes… so, so very much ♡ i will miss this bunch terribly. see you next november ! ♡”

At the 2025 Emmy Awards on September 14, Stiller spoke with E! about Grande’s role in Focker-In-Law. “What’s surprising—maybe not really surprising—is how amazing [Grande] has blended in [with the rest of the cast],” he said. “She’s such a pro. She’s so funny. She’s so talented, obviously, as a singer, but also she’s so funny and amazing...What she’s doing in this movie is kind of very unique. It’s a very unique character, and we’re having a great time, and just to go to work with her and De Niro—and Owen Wilson the other day decided to drop by, and that was fun.”

The Meet the Parents sequel is set to launch on Nov. 25, 2026, almost exactly a year after Wicked’s sequel, Wicked: For Good, drops this fall. When it comes to Universal, Grande certainly seems to think there’s no place like home.

This story will be updated.