ATHENS – Beloved actor Michael Constantine – who played her windex-as-panacea touting father Gus Portakalos has passed away – but his presence will be felt in My Big Fat Greek Wedding III that will be shot in Greece, dedicated to him, said star and screenwriter Nia Vardalos.

The first film was a huge sensation, but the second floundered and there was no word why there will be third to complete a trilogy although Vardalos, 59, posted the news on Instagram that it has begun shooting in Athens.

The Greek-Canadian star said: “Much love and gratitude to you all for your support as we waited to film. Greece baby. Greece,” she said, reported The New York Post, adding that she will also direct this one, telling fans: “We are in Greece filming ‘My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3’ and thank you for all the lovely messages of just waiting.”

She said that after Constantine, who player her diner own dad Gus, knew that he wouldn’t be in another take that it was his wish that it go on with the rest of the cast who became fan favorites for their oddities.

“I wrote the screenplay to reflect Michael’s decision and will always treasure his last messages to me, hoping we were filming soon,” she wrote.

“We miss you Michael, thank you for bringing my words to life with such passion and accuracy, you will always be with us,” she said of his funny and passionate role that both typecast Greek-Americans but made him treasured.

My Big Fat Greek Wedding premiered in 2002 and followed Toula (Vardalos), a 30-year-old Greek woman living in Chicago who marries a non-Greek man (John Corbett) amid her family’s objections and was nominated for Best Original Screenplay in 2003.

No word on what the story will revolve around in the third go-round although she made another film set in Greece about a tour guide, My Life in Ruins that didn’t fare well at the box office despite a stellar cast.

She posted a photo of herself alongside her co-stars Lainie Kazan, Louis Mandylor and Gia Carides who gathered in August, 2021 to honor Constantine who died that month, leaving behind the legacy of Gus.