Pete Segal has signed on to direct Little Fockers, the third installment in the Meet the Parents franchise for Universal Pictures/Tribeca Prods.

According to Variety, Segal was expected to return as the director of Get Smart 2, but became available when Steve Carell instead made a deal to team with Tina Fey in the Shawn Levy-directed comedy Date Night for Fox.

John Hamburg scripted the third installment. It is the first in the series (Meet the Parents, Meet the Fockers) not to be directed by Jay Roach. The franchise is one of Universal's most lucrative, with a combined worldwide gross just north of $820 million.

Universal will get the film into production later this year. Robert De Niro and Jane Rosenthal produce.