An Adam Sandler Classic Is Getting a Sequel After Almost 30 Years!
Wait, what? We are getting a Happy Gilmore 2 almost 30 years on from the original? Well, I certainly didn’t have that on my 2024 predictions but apparently, it’s happening.
The sequel has been greenlit by Netflix, though not much more has been offered at this point, not even a logline, but let’s see what we can dig up! Happy Gilmore follows the story of a failed hockey player who has a wickedly strong slapshot but a volatile temper. When he picks up a golf club on a whim, he discovers he can transfer his skills to the sport and decides to join a pro-golf tournament to win enough money to keep his grandmother’s house, from which she is about to be evicted. His long shots are phenomenal, but his putting skills need a lot of work, with his anger problems getting in the way.
With the help of retired golf pro Chubbs Peterson, Happy learns how to go to his “happy place” to clear his mind and putt. He still has to face off against the smarmy golf player Shooter McGavin, who is determined to see Happy lose and add salt to his loss by buying his grandmother’s house just to rub it in his face. The film was written by Sandler and Tim Herlihy and was released by Universal Pictures in 1996, grossing $82 million worldwide, with many still referring to it as a Sandler classic from that period of his career.
Netflix announced that a sequel was underway during its Upfront presentation according to reports, with Sandler having spoken about the film being in development on the Dan Patrick Show. Christopher McDonald, who played Happy’s nemesis, Shooter, has also speculated that he may return, saying on a radio show, “I saw Adam [Sandler] about two weeks ago, and he says to me, ‘McDonald, you’re gonna love this.’ I said, ‘What?’ He says, ‘How about that,’ and he shows me the first draft of Happy Gilmore 2.”
It absolutely makes sense that Sandler would be bringing the deal to Netflix given his longstanding partnership with the streaming service, which has led to films such as Murder Mystery, Spaceman, and You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah.
Back in 1996, Sandler was starting to ride his first wave of success, with films like Billy Madison and Happy Gilmore making him a household name in comedy. Those two films would influence Sandler to start his own production company, using their names to create Happy Madison Productions, out of which Sandler would produce many of his own movies featuring many of his regular cohort such as David Spade, Kevin James, Jennifer Aniston, and Drew Barrymore.
There isn’t much more we know about the sequel at this point in time, with no plot or official cast information having been released yet, though we are sure Sandler will return, and it looks like McDonald could, as well. Other than that, we will simply have to wait to hear more news!
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