My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3: Release Date, Cast And More

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If one were to apply the "Predator" handshake meme to Nia Vardalos and James Cameron, their clasped hands should probably be labeled, "Making incredibly long-legged hits at the box office." Cameron, mind you, has done this a tad more often than Vardalos has at this stage in their respective careers, but the mere fact that I was even able to write that sentence with a straight face is a testament to just how massive a sleeper success "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" was upon its release in 2002. To this day, it remains the second-highest-grossing film to never hit the top spot at the U.S. box office during its theatrical run.

You better hold tightly onto that crown while you still can, Mr. Cameron, 'cause you're not the only one with a much-hyped threequel in the works. That's right: Vardalos is coming for the king with "My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3," the third (and final?) big screen installment in the rom-com franchise and the first Vardalos has directed in addition to writing and headlining. What's more, she's borrowed a leaf from the "Mamma Mia!" movie playbook by setting both the story and production on-location in Greece itself. What nuptial-related hijinks will the Portokalos clan get up to this time around? Here's what we know about the film so far.

Focus Features has announced it will release "My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3" in U.S. theaters on September 8, 2023, with Universal Pictures International handling its rollout overseas. For those who haven't been keeping up on all the recent happenings in the greater Big Fat Greek Wedding Universe™, Nia Vardalos kicked off production on the film back in June 2022 before wrapping just a few months later. I regret to inform you all, however, that it has not been officially titled "My Big Fat Gr33k W3dding" per our previous suggestion here at /Film. So goes another lost dream.

Where "My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2" managed to thrive as counter-programming to "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" when the pair went head-to-head at the box office in March 2016 (though we all agree it was Toula who emerged as the true victor in that three-way cage match, yes?), its follow up is set to compete directly with "The Nun 2" during its opening weekend. Can Valak go toe to toe with the extended Portokalos family? I wouldn't take my chances, personally, but I'm also not an ancient demonic force ... so far as any of you know.

"My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3," like its predecessor, is expected to pick up in quasi-real-time after the events of the first movie and may center on Toula and Ian's now-grown daughter Paris getting married herself. "Wait," I can hear you ask, "Isn't Paris barely 21 years old at this stage in the 'Big Fat Greek Wedding' timeline?" Good question, reader! You see, if you recall, the original "Big Fat Greek Wedding" ended with a flash-forward to Paris attending Greek school as a young girl, in turn revealing the rest of the film had actually taken place six years prior (so around the mid-'90s). That's why Paris was 17 going on 18 and applying for colleges by the time "My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2" came out. As such, she ought to at least be out of college and either going to grad school or in the early stages of her career by the time the third movie begins.

That might seem like a lot of information to keep in mind for a "Big Fat Greek Wedding" sequel, but remember: Nia Vardalos has long championed not only the value of education in her films (see also: her script for "Larry Crowne"), but also the importance of women being afforded the option to pursue both a satisfying line of work and a happy family life, whichever way they so choose. No doubt, whatever wedding shenanigans she's got planned for Paris, I trust Vardalos will do right by her onscreen daughter in the threequel. (That is, assuming she doesn't throw us a curve ball and focus the story on someone else's nuptials entirely.)

In addition to serving as the film's writer and director, Nia Vardalos will once again portray the endearingly dorky Fotoula "Toula" Portokalos-Miller in "My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3," with John Corbett reprising his role as her loving husband Ian. Other confirmed "Big Fat Greek Wedding" alums returning for the threequel include Elena Kampouris (Paris), Louis Mandylor (Nick), Maria Vacratsis (Freida), Andrea Martin (Theia), Gia Carides (Nikki), and Joey Fatone (Angelo), with Elias Kavacas ("Pretty Little Liars Original Sin") and relative newcomer Melina Kotselou joining them. Behind the camera, longtime franchise producers Tom Hanks, Rita Wilson, and Gary Goetzman are also back for more zaniness with the Portokaloses and their relatives.

There is, of course, a dispiriting cloud hanging over the movie's head in the form of the late Michael Constantine, who played Toula's eccentric, Windex-spraying father Costas, aka Gus, prior to his death. "He had told me he wouldn't be able to join us for the third film and his wish was that we go on," Vardalos explained on Instagram a month after Constantine's passing in August 2021. "I wrote the screenplay to reflect Michael's decision and will always treasure his last messages to me, hoping we were filming soon." Say what you will about the "Big Fat Greek Wedding" films and their sitcom-styled formulaic silliness, but they're also genuinely earnest in their celebration of love and family — making the third chapter a perfect way for Vardalos to honor the memory of her beloved onscreen patriarch.