Robert De Niro and Ben Stiller in talks for new Meet the Parents movie

Robert De Niro and Ben Stiller are in talks to return for a new 'Meet the Parents' film.

A new project is in development at Universal Pictures and fellow cast members Teri Polo and Blythe Danner are also in negotiations about reprising their roles.

'Meet the Parents' was released in 2000 and centred on the comically awkward and tension-filled dynamic between male nurse Greg Focker (Stiller) and his fearsome ex-CIA father-in-law Jack Byrnes (De Niro).

The dynamic between the pair both evolves and stays the same as Greg marries Jack's daughter Pam (Polo) and has children with her.

'Meet the Parents' was critically and commercially acclaimed and went on to inspire the sequels 'Meet the Fockers' and 'Little Fockers' – which were released in 2004 and 2010 respectively.

Dustin Hoffman and Barbra Streisand also appeared in the franchise as Greg's parents Bernie and Roz although it isn't clear whether they will be returning.

John Hamburg, who co-wrote all three previous movies in the series, is set to pen the screenplay for the new picture but it is not known yet who will be directing the latest movie.

De Niro and Jane Rosenthal are returning as producers for Tribeca Productions, along with Jay Roach – who helmed the first two films – for Delirious Media.

Stiller and John Lesher will also produce for Red Hour Films.

The 'Zoolander' star previously revealed that he was terrified of acting alongside De Niro in the flick.

Speaking in a 2020 interview with 'Today' to mark the original film's 20th anniversary, Stiller said: "I remember the first day that we shot together.

"I think it was the scene where we meet for the first time at the doorstep. I said something like, 'Oh, this is a nice house' or something, and I kind of looked up at the house, and Bob saw me look up and he looked behind him like, 'What am I looking at?'

The 59-year-old star continued: "And he reacted, and I cracked up in his face. Just started laughing.

"And then started sweating because I'm like, 'I can't believe I'm breaking character on the first scene, the first line. He's going to think I'm the worst.'

"But then there was a moment where he smiled and I then felt, 'OK, it's alright.' But from then on, I never felt any more than comfortable actually."

De Niro also praised his "deadpan" co-star for the humour he brought.

The 'Cape Fear' star said: "Ben was great. He has a way of reacting with a deadpan expression or whatever."

De Niro, 81, left the door open to the prospect of a fourth movie at the time.

He said: "I'm game. There was some talk about it. I think it would be great."