Ariana Grande Boards Meet the Parents 4 With Ben Stiller and Robert De Niro
Ariana Grande is continuing her acting run with a starring role in Meet the Parents 4, alongside Ben Stiller and Robert De Niro.
Ariana Grande is continuing her acting run with a starring role in Meet the Parents 4 alongside Ben Stiller and Robert De Niro.
Details on Grande’s latest flick come from THR, who says the pop artist-turned-Wicked star will be a part of the comedy run’s newest installment. Universal is currently set to reunite the Focker and Byrnes families on November 25, 2026.
Stiller and De Niro have both signed on in what will be their fourth film butting heads as in-laws. Blythe Danner and Teri Polo, who both starred in Meet the Parents, Meet the Fockers, and Little Fockers, are expected to return but remain in the negotiations phase, according to THR’s sources. While most story beats remain a mystery, the site says one plot point will center on Polo and Stiller’s son, who “gets engaged to a ball-busting woman who seems all wrong for him.” Its sources say Grande will be the one to play the fiancée.
Behind the scenes, fans of the 2000s comedy movie series can expect Meet the Parents 4 to be written and directed by franchise veteran John Hamburg. Original trilogy director Jay Roach has boarded the project as a producer, with De Niro and Jane Rosenthal also producing through Tribeca Productions. Stiller is also producing with John Lesher through Red Hour Films, while Hamburg will produce via Particular Pictures. Universal’s Matt Reilly and Jacqueline Garell will oversee Meet the Parents 4 for the company.
Grande is perhaps best known for her work as a musician, having contributed seven studio albums to the music world. The most recent addition to her catalog is 2024’s Eternal Sunshine, a 13-track record that preceded her supporting role in Wicked, which premiered last fall. The Wizard of Oz musical movie adaptation was met with glowing reviews from critics and fans alike, earning Grande an Oscar nomination for her supporting role as Galinda / Glinda. She’ll reprise her role in a sequel, Wicked: For Good, November 21, 2025.
For more, you can read up on our list of the biggest films coming in 2025. You can also check out our original Meet the Parents review, where we gave the film an 8/10 upon its premiere in 2000.
Image credit Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Images.
Michael Cripe is a freelance contributor with IGN. He's best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).
