Michael Constantine.Photo: Harold Hoch/getty

The next film in theMy Big Fat Greek Weddingseries will pay tribute to late actorMichael Constantine, who died in 2021 at age 94.
During Focus Features' presentation atCinemaCon 2023in Las Vegas last week, the studio aired a trailer for the upcoming sequel that showedMy Big Fat Greek Wedding 3will center around the Portokalos family’s trip to Greece in order to fulfill Gus Portokalos’s (Constantine) last wishes.
Nia Vardalos, who wrote and starred in the 2002 originalMy Big Fat Greek Weddingand directs the new one, had shared in anInstagram postshortly after Constantine’s death that she built the sequel around his absence.
“It’s thrilling to have Nia Vardalos, Academy Award–nominated writer,“Rita Wilson, who produces the film alongside husbandTom Hanks, told a CinemaCon audience, according toEntertainment Weekly. “Not only in front of the camera as our star, but also behind the camera as our director, guiding our beloved cast for this third film shot on location in Greece.”
“My Big Fat Greek Weddinghas brought audiences joy for 21 years,” Wilson added. “I’m so happy that more joy is on the way.”
My Big Fat Greek Wedding.Sophie Giraud/Ifc/Kobal/Shutterstock

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Focus Features previouslyshared a first cast photofrom the upcoming comedy in February as it announced thatMy Big Fat Greek Wedding 3will land in theaters in September.
The announcement also featured an on-set image of the cast in Greece, including Vardalos,John Corbett,Andrea Martin,Louis Mandylor,Maria VacratsisandElena Kampourisreprising their roles from the previous films, as well as newcomerElias Kacavas.
RELATED VIDEO: Nia Vardalos TeasesMy Big Fat Greek Wedding 3: ‘It’s a Strong Maybe’
She told PEOPLE in February that filming the upcoming movie was “an incredible experience.”
“I had written the script and we were ready to go in 2020. This is an old story. Everyone was ready to go in 2020, right? But we went at the right time. We began filming in the summer,” she shared. “It was incredible. It was an incredible experience. It was hot and beautiful and the sun was shining. It was just great.”
My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3is in theaters Sept. 8.
source: people.com