‘My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3’ being filmed in Greece; Nia Vardalos to direct

Toula and her family are preparing for another round of Big Fat Greek comedy.

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Nia Vardalos, who starred in “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” and its 2016 sequel, revealed in an Instagram post that a third movie is in the works -- and she will be directing it.

“We are in Greece filming ‘My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3′ and thank you for all the lovely messages of just waiting,” Vardalos, 59, said in a video posted on her Instagram account. “Thank you to Playtone, Gold Circle, HBO and Focus. And much love and gratitude to you all for your support as we waited to film. Greece baby. Greece!”

“My Big Fat Greek Wedding” was released in 2002 to wide acclaim, Variety reported. Vardalos, who wrote the screenplay and played the lead role, earned an Oscar nomination for the film for original screenplay.

The original film, directed by Joel Zwick, follows Fotoula “Toula” Portokalos (Vardalos), a young Greek-American woman who falls in love with a non-Greek (John Corbett),” Variety reported. Going against her family’s objections, Toula marries him and begins a comical struggle to get her traditionalist Greek family to accept him. Meanwhile, Toula tries to come to grips with her own heritage and cultural identity, according to IMDb.com.

“My Big Fat Greek Wedding” became an unexpected smash at the box office, grossing just under $369 million worldwide on a $5 million budget, Entertainment Weekly reported. Its sequel, “My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2,” was not as warmly received and had a domestic box office gross of just under $60 million, according to Variety.

The original movie also spawned a television series, “My Big Fat Greek Life,” which lasted only seven episodes before it was canceled in 2003, Entertainment Weekly reported.

The new film will be without Michael Constantine, who played the Portokalos patriarch in the first two films. Constantine died in September 2021 at the age of 94 and was unable to begin filming on the latest installment, the entertainment outlet reported.

“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 wrote in an Instagram post last year. “I wrote the screenplay to reflect Michael’s decision and will always treasure his last messages to me, hoping we were filming soon.”

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