Ariana Grande is set to join the original cast of Meet the Parents in an upcoming sequel.
The singer and actor, who scored an Oscar nomination this year for Wicked, will join Robert De Niro and Ben Stiller in the as-yet-untitled fourth film in the successful comedy franchise.
Details are being kept under wraps, but according to the Hollywood Reporter, Grande will play a “ball-busting woman” who is engaged to the son of Stiller’s character. The trade also claims that Grande has been offered many roles since Wicked hit but was determined to find a comedy.
News of the film had originally been reported back in December and since then De Niro and Stiller have both been confirmed with co-stars Blythe Danner and Teri Polo reportedly in negotiations to join them.
The original film was released in 2000 and became a major box office hit, making $330m from a $55m budget. Two further films followed and the franchise has to date made over $1.1bn worldwide.
Earlier this week, producer Jane Rosenthal was asked about the sequel in a Variety interview. “We’d always talked about it,” she said. “Ben Stiller is now the same age that Bob was when we did the first one, and his kids have grown up, and they have to come home and meet the parents. I can’t disclose anything else about the plot.”
She added that she hopes it premieres in cinemas rather than streaming because there is “nothing like being in a theater and laughing”.
The film will be directed by John Hamburg, who co-wrote the previous films.
Grande, who has sold over 90m records worldwide, had previously acted on TV’s Victorious and Scream Queens before landing the role of Glinda in the two-part big screen adaptation of the musical Wicked. She scored a best supporting actress Oscar nomination and the film made over $750m at the global box office.
The follow-up, titled Wicked: For Good, will be released later this year.
