Robert De Niro makes jibe at Ben Stiller's career as Ariana Grande appears in 'Focker-in-Law' trailer

Robert de Niro has taken a jab at Ben Stiller at the launch of another upcoming sequel to Meet the Parents.

The first movie, 2000's Meet the Parents, saw Gaylord 'Greg' Focker, played by Stiller, attempting to win over his girlfriend's overly protective dad Jack, played by de Niro, who also happens to be a retired CIA agent and is determined to expose Greg.

After a series of escapades, Greg successfully manages to win over Jack and propose to his girlfriend Pam, played by Teri Polo.

But things are once again complicated in the sequel Meet the Fockers in 2004, where the newly engaged Greg and Pam take her parents to meet Greg's parents, played by Dustin Hoffman and Barbra Streisand, who take a far more free and easy approach to life than the straight-laced Jack.

The franchise returned again in 2010 with Little Fockers, where tensions between Greg and Jack are once again tested as children arrive.

Ariana Grande in the upcoming Focker-in-Law (YouTube/Universal Pictures)

Now a fourth film in the franchise is being released, Focker-In-Law, with Ariana Grande joining the cast.

This time, the boot will be on the other foot with Stiller now taking on the role of the disapproving father, while Grande is the would-be daughter-in-law trying to impress him.

Stiller and de Niro took to the stage together to talk about the new project, and de Niro had a few jabs at his co-star.

De Niro called Wicked star Grande 'probably the single most talented screen partner I've been lucky to share the screen with'.

Stiller chimed in with: “In a way, she's kind of like the new Ben Stiller.”

At this point, de Niro delivered a stinging comeback to Stiller, saying: “She got an Oscar nomination. How many of those do you have?"

Stiller has won both a Bafta and an Emmy for his work over the years, though he has not been nominated for an Oscar.

Ariana Grande joins the cast (Monica Schipper/Getty Images)

The pair then jokingly compared their careers, with Still saying that his Raging Bull was the animated feature Madagascar, where he voiced Alex the lion.

Referring to Despicable Me, which is a rival franchise to Madagascar, De Niro replied:"I prefer the one with the Minions."

Stiller has taken break from working in front of the camera for several years, working in both directing and producing.

His work has included Severance, a thriller for Apple TV which is now due to start its third season in 2027.

Meanwhile, de Niro is currently set to appear in upcoming thriller The Whisper Man, a dramatization of the novel of the same name.