Netflix Orders Sequel to Adam Sandler’s ‘Happy Gilmore’

Adam Sandler in ‘Happy Gilmore.’ Photo: Universal Pictures.

Preview:

Adam Sandler will return as Happy Gilmore.
Netflix is backing the sequel.
We’ll have to wait for other details.

1996 sports comedy ‘Happy Gilmore’ is such a key part of Adam Sandler’s career that it makes up part of his Happy Madison production company logo.

It makes sense then, that, as part of its deal with the comedy star, Netflix has officially ordered a sequel to the movie.

What was the story of ‘Happy Gilmore’?

Adam Sandler in ‘Happy Gilmore.’ Photo: Universal Pictures.

Happy Gilmore (Sandler) has long aspired to be a hockey player. Despite a powerful slapshot, Happy’s inability to skate and his volatile behavior excludes him from being accepted by any hockey team. Furthermore, Happy’s grandma is being evicted from her home after failing to pay her taxes.

After playing with some golf clubs and learning he can shoot golf balls far distances, he decides to join the PGA Tour in an effort to win money to buy back his grandmother’s home. Happy’s bad-boy image attracts a loyal following, but also attracts the attention of Shooter McGavin, the favorite to win the PGA Tour who is worried that Happy’s rise to stardom will undermine his shot to win.

Along the way, he’s helped by Carl Weathers’ one-armed mentor, Chubbs and trades blows with ‘The Price is Right’ host Bob Barker.

What was said about the sequel?

(L to R) Carl Weathers and Adam Sandler in ‘Happy Gilmore.’ Photo: Universal Pictures.

While there have been rumors about a follow-up to ‘Happy Gilmore’ for years, more notable news arrived recently from Christopher McDonald, who famously played Shooter in the original.

Here’s what he told the team on Audacy’s 92.3 ‘The Fan’ 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.’ Maybe you should cut that out [of this audio] because I don’t wanna be a liar, but he did show me that, and I thought, ‘Well, that would be awesome.’ So, it’s in the works. Fans demand it, dammit!”

Fans did indeed demand it, and now it’s happening.

But there will have to be some significant changes to the cast line-up since some of the original actors have since died.

Here’s what Sandler said about paying tribute to those we have lost since 1996:

“I would love [‘The Price is Right’ host] Drew Carey to be in this movie out of respect to Bob [Barker]. When we were writing stuff, Bob was alive. When we were writing stuff, Carl Weathers was alive. When we were writing stuff, Joe Flaherty was alive. It sucks, we love those guys. They were such a big part of the movie and just great people. But we’re going to get them involved somehow. They’ll be involved.”

There are no other details to report about the movie, beyond Netflix making it official.