Movies

‘My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3' Gets Release Date and 1st Look at Portokalos Family Reunion

Nia Vardalos, John Corbett and more stars from the original rom-com are traveling back to Greece for another big, fat family reunion

The cast of "My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3"
Focus Features

The Portokalos family is reuniting this fall in "My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3" — and we've got a first look at the movie's all-star cast.

Nia Vardalos reprises her role as Toula Portokalos, a Greek-American woman from a boisterous tight-knit family who finds love with mild-mannered WASP Ian Miller, played by John Corbett. The new movie finds the couple, now married with a daughter, packing their bags and traveling back to Greece to spend time with the lively Portokalos clan.

Vardalos, who also wrote and directed the movie, shared a few details with fans Feb. 17 on Instagram. "Thassssssright!!! You are all invited to the big fat family reunion!!" she wrote, adding, "The original cast is back, with some surprise guests too. I am thrilled to get the opportunity to write this third installment of our franchise, and to direct it as well. See you at the movies! Worldwide. Omg."

In a press released from Focus Features, Vardalos credited the movie's returning producers, who include singer and actor Rita Wilson and her Oscar-winning husband Tom Hanks. “The sweet friendship which bloomed from the producers’ first taking a chance on me then grew into a beautiful relationship as they entrusted me to direct this installment of our franchise," Vardalos said.

She added, “We filmed our family reunion entirely in Greece which was thrilling for us all. Plus, we ate for free.”

Wilson also gushed about the project. "'My Big Fat Greek Wedding'" has brought audiences joy for twenty-one years. I’m so happy that more joy is on the way," she said in the release.

The original "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" was a box-office smash in 2002, and remains to this day the highest-grossing rom-com in North America. Quite a feat for a movie released by an independent studio. The 2016 sequel, "My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2," featuring the couple's teenage daughter, was another commercial success.

Vardalos and Corbett aren't the only original stars returning for the rom-com's third installment.

The movie's cast also includes Andrea Martin, Gia Carides, former NSYNC member Joey Fatone, Elena Kampouris, Louis Mandylor and Maria Vacratsis, along with with former "Pretty Little Liars" star Elias Kacavas and newcomer Melina Kotselou.

Vardalos announced in June 2022 that a third movie in the franchise had begun filming on location in Greece. She also acknowledged the six years that had passed since the second movie. “Thank you so much for the lovely messages of waiting,” she told fans. 

Vardalos followed up in November by teasing fans with a "sneak peek" photo on Instagram of the new movie's cast shooting a scene.

This story first appeared on TODAY.com. More from TODAY:

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