Adam Sandler is, apparently, working on a sequel to his 1995 hit “Happy Gilmore,” according to Christopher McDonald, who played Shooter McGavin in the original film.
In an interview with Cleveland’s 92.3 The Fan on Friday, McDonald said “I saw Adam about two weeks ago, and he says to me, ‘McDonald, you’re gonna love this.’ I said, ‘What?’ He says, ‘How ’bout 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.”
This is the first time we’ve gotten word of a ‘Happy Gilmore’ sequel being in development. Sadly, the late Bob Barker won’t be reprising his role in the sequel, but we’ll always have Sandler and Barker’s iconic fist fight to rewatch on YouTube (“The price is wrong, bitch!”)
In the 1995 film, Sandler introduced audiences to his failed hockey player who finds unexpected success on the pro golf tour. It only made $38 million at the box-office, but ended up being a major success on home video and is now regarded, by many, as Sandler’s signature role.
“Happy Gilmore” was part of the ‘90s Sandler trifecta, which also consisted of “Billy Madison,” and “The Wedding Singer.” As amusing as those films might be, Sandler’s artistic triumphs have come as a dramatic actor in critically acclaimed films such as “Uncut Gems,” “Punch-Drunk Love” and “The Meyerowitz Stories.”
Universal currently owns the rights to ‘Happy Gilmore’. However, I would assume, given the large scale contract he has with Netflix, that the streamer would attempt to buy the rights to make this sequel. It should be interesting to see how this all plays out.