Robert De Niro Teases ‘Meet the Parents 4’, Says the Script Is “Really Good”

Robert De Niro, the Hollywood icon and star of classic films like The Godfather Part II and Taxi Driver, has recently addressed his reprisal as Jack Byrnes in the upcoming sequel to the classic 2000s comedy, Meet the Parents. During a recent screening of the original to celebrate its 25th anniversary, De Niro teased the revival of the Focker franchise, noting that the film is coming along nicely and that he’s “looking forward to it.”

Per Deadline, De Niro joined director Jay Roach and co-stars Teri Polo and Ben Stiller for the 25th anniversary screening of Meet the Parents. After the screening, they participated in a Q&A session where they offered details about the sequel, which recently added Wicked star Ariana Grande to its cast in an undisclosed role. When asked about the upcoming movie, De Niro, much like his retired CIA agent character, remained coy, and simply said that the “script is really good.” He also confirmed that he’s been wanting to do a new Meet the Parents since they made Little Fockers (2010), the last film in the original trilogy:

“Actually, when we filmed the last one, I was with Ben and John Hamburg, and we sat in my camper, and I said, ‘Let’s start writing one now, to be ready for another one.’ And they said, ‘Yeah, yeah, sure, sure, sure.’ They were humoring me. They didn’t want to do it. Whatever. And so now finally, though, it only took 15 years.”

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John Hamburg, a co-writer on the original and its two sequels, is set to write and direct the movie. Original director Jay Roach will remain as producer, and he also offered a few exciting details when comparing the original Meet the Parents with what they’re planning to do with the follow-up:

“You know, it’s always about the predicament. I fell in love with that script, the first film script … because imagining what it’s like when you care so much about winning the approval of someone, and you’re right away going to start screwing it up, and the harder you try, the worse you’re going to make it.

“And I think that’s what John has come up with again, and that’s what you always need. That predicament is everything in a story. And I think in this one, John found a really great new predicament. I think everybody’s going to love squirming through it, just like this.”

‘Meet the Parents 4’ Finds Ben Stiller in the De Niro Role

Universal Pictures

De Niro wasn’t always known for his comedic talent. Roles in The King of Comedy, Midnight Run, and Stanley and Iris proved that the actor, best known for serious gangster roles, could make people laugh. But they were not as prominent as films like Raging Bull and Goodfellas. It wasn’t until 1999 and 2000, when De Niro starred in Analyze This and Meet the Parents, respectively, that the Academy Award winner was able to leave behind the stereotype that Martin Scorsese helped build. He never stopped playing ill-tempered characters, but at least, he was hilarious in these roles.

“I don’t know. I don’t know what we can say,” Stiller says when asked about Meet the Parents 4 (not an official title). He also didn’t say much about the comedy tone they were going to use for the film. The first one made more than $330 million at the box office and became one of the highest-grossing films that year. It’s a no-brainer that Universal Pictures will push for a PG-13 cut.

What Stiller did say regards the storyline, which resembles the one in the first film, as he’s now as old as De Niro was in the first movie. When talking about co-star Teri Polo, Stiller jokingly says that she’s the same age:

“I think what spurred the idea was that at this point in time. I’m the age that Bob [De Niro] was when we did the first movie. Teri is the same age she was when we did it, and there was this sort of mirror to the first film in terms of how my kids have grown. And my kid, one of my kids, is thinking about introducing his person to the family.”

Source: Deadline

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