Michael Constantine, who played patriarch Gus, passed away in 2021.
On February 17, Focus Features confirmed Fatone’s involvement, as well as the returning cast: John Corbett (Ian), Louis Mandylor (Nick) , Elena Kampouris (Paris), Maria Vacratsis (Aunt Freida), Andrea Martin (Aunt Voula), and Gia Carides (Cousin Nikki) are all set to reprise their roles.
Elias Kacavas and Melina Kotselou are newcomers joining the family. Though they won’t appear onscreen, Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson are joining the project as producers, per Focus Features’s press release.
We have our first look!
What’s it about?
Vardalos filmed her announcement video from Athens, hinting at the big family vacation! In the second My Big Fat Greek Wedding movie, Gus and matriarch Maria get remarried (their original certificate was never signed), Ian and Toula renew their vows, and their daughter Paris goes to prom and then college. This movie starts after Gus’s death, and the family’s observance of his final wish: For everyone to return to the village where he grew up and meet the cousins and friends he left behind. (See more in the trailer below.)
“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 in a statement released mid-February. “We filmed our family reunion entirely in Greece which was thrilling for us all. Plus, we ate for free.”
The trailer is here!
In the official trailer, released on May 11, 2023, the Portokalos family takes a trip to Greece for a reunion with their extended Greek family—the final wish of patriarch Gus, who has passed away. (The real-life actor who played Gus, Michael Constantine, passed in 2021.)
While Toula and Ian search for Gus’s childhood friends, love blossoms between Aristotle and Paris (which is an unwelcome development to Paris, who had ghosted Aristotle before the trip), and Aunt Voula continues to be Aunt Voula, a.k.a the most hilarious member of the Portokalos family.
