‘Happy Gilmore’ sequel in the works from Adam Sandler
The follow-up to the classic 1996 golf comedy is heading to Netflix
By Daniel Kreps
Get ready to go back to your happy place as Netflix has announced that a sequel to Adam Sandler’s classic golf comedy Happy Gilmore is officially in the works.
The streaming service — which has had a long partnership with Sandler’s Happy Madison production company — announced the long-awaited sequel to the 1996 film during Netflix’s upfront presentation Wednesday in New York.
Rumors of another Happy Gilmore first emerged in March when actor Christopher McDonald, who played the antagonist Shooter McGavin in the original, revealed in an interview that Sandler had written a script for the sequel.
“I saw Adam [Sandler] about two weeks ago, and he says to me, ‘McDonald, you’re gonna love this,’” McDonald said at the time. “I said, ‘What?’ He says, ‘How about that,’ and he shows me the first draft of Happy Gilmore 2 … I thought, ‘Well, that would be awesome.’ So, it’s in the works. Fans demand it, dammit!”
The next month, Drew Barrymore — Sandler’s co-star in The Wedding Singer and 50 First Dates — received a semi-confirmation that Happy Gilmore 2 was “in process”. The talk show host declared: “I want it. I need it.”
On Wednesday, without going into too much plot and cast details, Netflix confirmed that Happy Gilmore 2 was on the way, with Sandler reprising his role as a hockey player-turned-golfer:
While it’s unclear who will be rejoining Sandler (presumably besides McDonald) in the sequel, a handful of the original stars have died in the nearly 30 years since the last film, including Frances Bay (who played Gilmore’s grandmother), Richard Kiel (Gilmore’s boss-turned-fan Mr. Larson), Bob Barker (who famously cameoed as himself), and most recently, Carl Weathers, who played Gilmore’s golf instructor “Chubbs,” and Joe Flaherty, who peppered Gilmore with “jackass” mid-shot.
No release date for the sequel has been announced.