Nia Vardalos, the creator, writer and star of “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” and its sequel, recently announced that “My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3” is in the works.
Vardalos joked on Twitter and Instagram on April 7 that the “news leaked because one Greek found out.” She thanked everyone “for the love” and said of the third movie “Soon, I hope!” before linking to her Instagram video where she confirmed rumors of “My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3.”
The news leaked because one Greek found out. Thank you for the love. Soon, I hope! https://t.co/upN283hLy2
— Nia Vardalos (@NiaVardalos) April 7, 2021
Vardalos explained that while she and other backers of the film have been trying for over a year to film a script she wrote for “My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3,” filming hasn’t yet been able to start due to COVID-19 issues.
“Because even though we are distributed by Universal Studios as usual and of course, the entire cast is invited back and we are trying to employ hundreds of people, the fact is that we are an independent film. And apparently, independent films cannot get insurance,” she said on Instagram.
The pandemic has made pricey and limited film insurance necessary but hard to obtain; companies are afraid to finance productions due to the added cost of COVID-19 safety measures during production and the possibility of losses from shutdowns or illness. In the video, Vardalos asked anyone that might be able to help “My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3” get insurance to contact her.
She also joked that she was sharing the news in part to get people to stop calling her mom’s house and asking to be in the film.
Vardalos ended her short video speaking in Greek before translating her words into English and saying that when the third movie happens, the production will be going to Greece to shoot.
In the comments on her Instagram post, Vardalos responded to someone asking whether Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson, producers on the first two films, could help with insurance.
“They and Gary Goetzman are the wonderful producers, the film is fully financed by the same companies who financed us before,” Vardalos wrote. “Apparently, because of Covid, we can’t get insurance. It’s sad, so very sad.”
The first “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” was a surprise hit in 2002 and became the highest-grossing romantic comedy of all time. Vardalos based it on her own large Greek family and experience marrying a non-Greek. She adapted the movie script from a one-woman play she performed, which first attracted the attention of Wilson and Hanks. The two became the eventual producers of the first film.
“My Big Fat Greek Life” was a short-lived, seven-episode, 2003 television series version of the first film, which featured almost all the original cast but didn’t get great reviews.
In 2016, “My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2” came out in theaters. It focuses on Ian and Toula’s teen daughter and includes a side plot about Toula’s parents needing to get married again due to a technicality. The sequel received poor reviews.
Here’s hoping that “My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3” gets its insurance so we can look forward to an opa! of a trilogy. In the meantime, we’ll just put some Windex on our whining and wait.
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