Happy Gilmore 2 is officially happening as Netflix confirmed that Adam Sandler will reprise his role as the hockey player-turned-golfer with a post on social media. The streamer stopped short of sharing any plot, cast member, writer, or director information. However, the news comes weeks after Christopher McDonald, who played Shooter McGavin, claimed that he’d seen a first draft of the sequel everyone’s been waiting three decades for: “I saw Adam about two weeks ago … and he shows me the first draft of Happy Gilmore 2,” he said during an appearance on Audacy’s 92.3 The Fan radio show.
When pushed to clarify, McDonald said, “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, damn it!” Fingers crossed that McDonald’s character, Shooter McGavin, will make a comeback alongside his nemesis.
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While we can only speculate about what the new film might contain, we’re sure Happy has found himself in plenty of trouble over the intervening years, so there are plenty of directions the story could go and questions it could answer.
There are plenty of questions that need to be answered, such as, did Happy stick with golf following his tournament win, or did he return to his beloved hockey? Did things work out between Happy and Virginia (Modern Family’s Julie Bowen)? Does Shooter still eat pieces of sh*t for breakfast? Only time will tell.
One thing that seems confirmed is an appearance from sports broadcaster Dan Patrick, who’s already cropped up in several of Sandler’s films, including I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry, Just Go with It, and Hustle. Patrick has claimed his role is secured. In a clip from his podcast shared on X (formerly Twitter), he can be heard reading a text exchange with Sandler: “Sandman, just trying to finalise my schedule for the upcoming year. How much time should I take off for the sequel to Happy Gilmore?”
“A few days. But I’ll let you know when there’s a script. Still figuring a lot out,” Patrick read as Sandler’s response, before saying the actor signed off with, “You’re in it, bro. You play you.”
Although it’s been a while since one of Sandler’s comedies scaled the heights of his mid-’90s peak, we’re hopeful that by revisiting his most iconic character he’ll be able to rekindle that original Happy magic. If he just remembers that it’s all in the hips, we think he’ll be on to a winner.
