In a world of legacy sequels, it was only a matter of time before somebody decided to visit the 1996 classic Happy Gilmore, which starred Adam Sandler in the early stages of his movie career at that point. Netflix is reviving the movie series for a sequel, with Sandler and other familiar cast members returning to their iconic roles. In the original, Sandler portrays a struggling hockey player who picks up golf in an effort to save his grandmother’s home. He’s trained in the sport by a retired golfer who lost his hand from an alligator attack named Chubbs, played by the late Carl Weathers.
Happy Gilmore 2, in development for Netflix, plans to bring back many members of the original cast. This includes Sanders, as well as Christopher McDonald and Julie Bowen. The latter two played Scooter McGavin and Virginia Venet, respectively. At the time of writing, there is not much known about the film itself other than the returning characters. The direction the movie can go in is wide open, considering how long it’s been since audiences last saw Happy and his friends.
McGavin, Venet, and Gilmore are all safe considering they have all been announced as returning characters, as confirmed by Netflix. Chubbs died from an inadvertent scare from an alligator head in the original movie, so there won’t be any need to deal with Weathers’ death, although there is still room for a tribute to one of the actor’s most beloved roles. Similar to how Jenna Ortega came on board in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, the cast of Happy Gilmore 2 will feature some big names that weren’t around in the original.
Major Celebrities Join The Happy Gilmore 2 Cast
While many might not know him as an actor, Puerto Rican rapper-singer Bad Bunny will play a role in the film, according to The Hollywood Reporter. He’s been branching out from music, and one such way he’s done that is joining the WWE. Most recently, he competed in the 2022 Royal Rumble, and he’s a playable character in WWE 2K24. He also appeared in 2022’s Bullet Train and in the wrestling drama Cassandro for Amazon. Bad Bunny isn’t the only new face audiences will be seeing, either.
Considering this is a sports movie, it makes sense that professional athletes would show up in some way or another. For right now, only Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce is confirmed to appear. While he’s a future Hall of Famer in his sport, Kelce has exploded into mainstream fame thanks to his relationship with fellow megastar Taylor Swift. Rounding out the announced cast are Benny Safdie and Nick Swardson. As the film goes further into development, there will likely be more information to share about who’s in it and what it’s about. Ben Stiller teased a return, but he hasn’t officially been announced just yet.
Happy Gilmore 2 is directed by Kyle Newacheck, a primetime Emmy nominee for his work on FX’s What We Do In The Shadows. The script is co-written by Sandler and Tim Herlihy, a frequent Sandler collaborator. The pair’s most recent work together was for 2020’s Hubie Halloween, another film made exclusively for Netflix.
