Originally appeared on E! Online
Ariana Grande is test driving a new character.
The “Wicked” star is set to join Robert De Niro and Ben Stiller in an upcoming sequel of “Meet the Parents,” E! News has confirmed.
Details about her character remains firmly under wraps. However, she’s stepping into a full Fockers-Byrnes reunion, as Blythe Danner and Teri Polo will also reprise their roles in the fourth installment. John Hamburg — who co-wrote 2000’s “Meet the Parents,” 2004’s “Meet the Fockers,” and 2010’s “Little Fockers” — will direct the new project, taking over for Jay Roach, who held that position for the first two films. (Paul Weitz helmed the third.)
Though the sequel’s title and plot details haven’t been shared, fans can mark their calendars for sooner than later. The film is set to release on Nov. 26, 2026.
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This announcement comes nearly 15 years after “Little Fockers” released in December 2010. And while Stiller (who portrays Greg Focker) and De Niro (Jack Byrnes) have gone on to star in other films, Stiller showed interest in reuniting with his onscreen father-in-law.
Ariana Grande spoke with Access Hollywood’s Mario Lopez and Kit Hoover and talked about her custom Schiaparelli gown. She also did a fun “Wicked” “toss toss” moment and reacted to potential “Wicked 2” song ideas!
“I think everybody wants to make it happen,” the 59-year-old told Entertainment Tonight earlier this year. “Somebody noted a year or two ago that I was the same age that De Niro was when we did the first one. But any chance to work with De Niro, I’ll take it.”
As for Grande, she recently shared insight into “reconnecting” with acting after taking a years-long hiatus to focus on her music.
“I think I love acting,” she told Matt Rogers and “Wicked” costar Bowen Yang on their “Las Culturistas” podcast last November. “I love musical theater. I love comedy, and it heals me to do that — finding roles to use these parts of myself.”
(E! and Universal Pictures are both part of the NBCUniversal family.)
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