The Focker family is back, but Ben Stiller is making sure fans know exactly where his loyalties lie. With the upcoming release of ‘Focker-In-Law’ generating massive buzz online—thanks in no small part to the addition of pop superstar Ariana Grande—Stiller is taking a trip down memory lane, and he is being surprisingly candid.
After the original ‘Meet the Parents’ became a certified cultural phenomenon in , Stiller and Robert De Niro returned for a series of follow-ups: ‘s ‘Meet the Fockers’ and ‘s ‘Little Fockers’. But as the franchise gears up for its fourth installment this November, Stiller has admitted that the road hasn’t always been paved with comedic gold.
The Tweet That Started It All
The honesty session kicked off on X (formerly Twitter) when a member of Ariana Grande’s dedicated fanbase, the Arianators, reached out with a dilemma. “Yall I did not watch the first movies (and I don’t want to watch it either) but I want to watch the th one. Will I lose major plot?” the fan asked.
Stiller himself jumped into the mentions to offer some expert guidance. “No!” the actor replied. However, it was the second half of his message that caught everyone’s attention: “But I stand by the first two.”
The subtle shade toward the third film, ‘Little Fockers’, did not go unnoticed. When another user pressed him on what exactly went wrong with the sequel, Stiller offered a diplomatic but telling response. “We always try. Fully,” he wrote, leaving fans to read between the lines about the critically panned third chapter.
Welcoming Ariana to the Chaos
Despite his mixed feelings on the third film, Stiller seems revitalized for the new sequel, ‘Focker-In-Law’, which hits theaters on November . The plot centers on Greg and Pam’s son, Henry (played by Skyler Gisondo), who creates a family firestorm when he decides to marry Olivia Jones, played by Ariana Grande.
During a recent appearance at CinemaCon in Las Vegas, Stiller leaned into the long gap between movies. He joked that the production team planned a “fully intentional -year break” to let the dust settle from ‘Little Fockers’ before diving back in.
A Playful Feud with Robert De Niro
The press tour is already delivering the kind of “father-in-law vs. son-in-law” energy that made the first film a hit. On stage at CinemaCon, Stiller couldn’t help but poke fun at his legendary co-star, Robert De Niro.
Stiller pointed out that he is now roughly the same age De Niro was when they filmed the original movie back in . “I guess you could say I’m the new De Niro of the franchise,” Stiller quipped.
The Oscar winner, ever the straight man, didn’t miss a beat. “Don’t say that. It’s very disrespectful,” the ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ star replied. “You made a very unflattering comparison that forced me to defend my honor.”
A Star-Studded Return
While the internet is obsessed with Ariana’s role as the “strong-willed” Olivia, long-time fans can rest easy knowing the original squad is returning. Owen Wilson, Blythe Danner, and Teri Polo are all set to reprise their iconic roles alongside Stiller and De Niro.
Whether ‘Focker-In-Law’ can reclaim the magic of the first two films remains to be seen, but with Stiller’s honest stamp of approval on the script, the hype is officially real. One thing is for certain: the Focker family dinner table is about to get a whole lot more “Dangerous.”
