Dustin Hoffman has agreed to be a Focker again.
After an brief courtship, the studio has enticed two-time Oscar winner Hoffman to reprise his role as Bernie Focker in the Paul Weitz-directed "Little Fockers" sequel, the actor's publicist has confirmed to TheWrap.
According to Deadline, Hoffman will film four scenes for the movie — for which principle photography has been completed — including some pivotal scenes with onscreen wife Barbra Streisand and a finale featuring all of the major characters we've come to love.
Plus, Weitz will shoot at least two additional scenes for the sequel that won't involve Hoffman. That shooting will occur in September, in time originally slotted for pick-ups.
Hoffman was originally written out of the film when he and the studio couldn't come to terms. Producer Jay Roach and co-writer/producer John Hamburg helped convince him to return, and in the end, he'll receive the same payday he was initially in line for.
"Little Fockers" will reportedly cost Universal over $100 million, which seems crazy considering there's no CG explosions and the movie won't be converted to 3D, but I suppose that's the cost of an A-list cast (Hoffman, Streisand, Robert De Niro, Ben Stiller, Harvey Keitel) these days.
A Universal insider told Deadline that while "Little Fockers" tested well and could have been released "as is," the studio "want(s) to make it better. It's an investment in the future of the franchise."
Wait a second … the future of the franchise? How much longer can this thing continue? I happen to have really enjoyed the first two films in the series, and am looking forward to seeing "Little Fockers" over the holidays, but will we really need a fourth film after this one? Even the "Look Who's Talking" series had the good sense to stop at three.
Previous reports have indicated that "Little Fockers" was a troubled production that would need to be fixed in post, and at one point, Universal may have even contemplated replacing Weitz with Hamburg. Instead, those two hunkered down in an editing suite for two months with Roach and star Stiller and went through the footage before deciding that all principal cast members would have to return for the week of pick-ups in September.
Hoffman is set to star in HBO's upcoming horse racing drama "Luck." He is represented by WME.
Vulture first reported that Hoffman would likely be lured back into the "Focker" fold earlier this month.
