Technically, Father Of The Bride 3 has been in the works for over two decades but will the sequel ever happen? Based on the Spencer Tracy-fronted 1950 film of the same name, the first Father Of The Bride movie came out in 1991. The comedy stars Steve Martin as George Banks, the patriarch of a suburban family made up of wife Nina (Diane Keaton), daughter Annie (Kimberly Williams-Paisley) and son Matty (Kieran Culkin), who struggles with 22-year-old Annie’s announcement she’s getting married to Brian (Scandal’s George Newbern), who she's only known for a few months.
A sequel, Father of the Bride Part II, followed in 1995. Set a few years after the first film, the sequel saw George dealing with the fact he’s about to become a grandfather and a father for the third time when both Annie and Nina reveal they’re expecting at the same time. While Father Of The Bride Part II wasn’t as successful as the original, it did well enough for director Charles Shyer and screenwriter Nancy Meyers to start planning a second sequel in 1996. Unfortunately, the first attempt at a third film failed to get off the ground.
However, recent rumors suggest Father Of The Bride 3 might not be dead in the water after all. Here’s what we know about the potential sequel.
Rumors Of A Sequel Resurfaced In 2014
Back in 2014, Hollywood journalist Nikki Finke reported Father Of The Bride 3 was in the works. According to Finke, the third installment would focus on a gay wedding with a grown-up Matty Banks tying the knot with the son of a U.S. Navy Seal and would see Steve Martin and Diane Keaton reprise their roles. Shortly after, however, Martin took to Twitter to debunk the rumor, stating he hadn’t seen a script or been offered a role.
A Father Of The Bride 3 Script Exists
In an exclusive 2017 interview with Us Weekly, Father Of The Bride star George Newbern confirmed director Charles Shyer had penned a script for a third movie. He also stated he’d heard of some concepts for Father Of The Bride 3 that – in his words – were “pretty good and different and newsworthy” and was confident the original cast would return if the script was good enough. Whether the script Newbern speaks of is related to the sequel Finke reported on is unknown, but gay marriage would certainly be a timely topic for a Father Of The Bride follow-up.
Disney Might Reboot Father Of The Bride
While there has been no official word from the powers that be about Father Of The Bride 3, there have been rumors Disney might reboot the original 1991 film for its newly launched streaming service Disney+. While Disney has yet to confirm the rumor, the House of Mouse is pushing ahead with reboots of other 1990s properties like Home Alone and The Mighty Ducks so it gels with the company’s plans.
So, it seems the chances of another sequel happening are quite high but whether it’ll be Father Of The Bride 3 or a reboot remains to be seen.