Ben Stiller and Robert De Niro brought the CinemaCon crowd into the circle of trust with the first Focker In-Law trailer.
Universal Pictures celebrated the Meet the Parents sequel ahead of its Nov. 27 theatrical release. Owen Wilson, Blythe Danner and Teri Polo reprise their roles from the franchise, while cast newcomers include Ariana Grande and Beanie Feldstein.
Stiller made his way to the stage on his own, where he joked that the franchise’s team planned a “fully intentional 15-year-break between movies three and four.” He pointed out that he is now roughly the same age that De Niro was in the 2000 film and added, “I guess you could say I’m the new De Niro of the franchise.”
This spurred De Niro to join him on the stage and quip, “Don’t say that. It’s very disrespectful.” He continued, “You made a very unflattering comparison that forced me to defend my honor.”
The pair also praised Grande’s role in the new movie. “She got an Oscar nomination,” De Niro told Stiller. “How many of those do you have?” De Niro then added, “I didn’t write this.”
When the trailer screened, it kicked off with De Niro giving Grande a lie detector test, calling back to the first movie.
“Do you think I hold Henry emotionally hostage?” Stiller asks about his son, the romantic interest of Grande’s character. Later, Grande tells the family, “People underestimate me, but actually I was an FBI hostage negotiator.”
Later, Stiller hears his son is planning to propose to Grande and asks, “Are you sure she’s the one?”
The footage also shows the family dressed in pink shirts as they take a bike ride together, followed by Grande taking a nasty spill.
John Hamburg, who worked on the screenplay for the original 2000 film Meet the Parents and the two subsequent sequels, helmed the new movie from his own script.
Focker In-Law centers on Skyler Gisondo as the son of Stiller and Polo’s characters, who gets engaged to a woman who seems all wrong for him.
Helmed by Roach, the first Meet the Parents focused on a nurse (Stiller) having trouble getting accepted by his girlfriend’s overbearing father (De Niro). The 2000 film surpassed $330 million at the global box office, and 2004’s sequel Meet the Fockers, which added Dustin Hoffman and Barbra Streisand to the cast, was even bigger, collecting $522 million worldwide.
Roach directed the first two movies, while Paul Weitz helmed 2010’s Little Fockers.
During a 2022 interview with The Hollywood Reporter to promote his Kevin Hart-Mark Wahlberg comedy Me Time, Hamburg was cagey when asked if another Meet the Parents sequel could happen.
“I will refrain from discussing that question, but I love everybody involved, and we all are still in touch, and I think that’s all I’m gonna say on that,” Hamburg said at the time.
CinemaCon is the annual event for exhibitors and Hollywood studios that runs this year from April 13-16. It is the official convention of Cinema United.
