Why did Adam Sandler finally decide to make ‘Happy Gilmore 2’?
What’s the ideal window for a second chance at a great story in Hollywood? Around a decade ago, when Happy Gilmore director Dennis Dugan was asked about the possibility of a sequel, the prospect seemed quite unlikely. However, now that we are here, sitting a few weeks away from the Netflix release of Happy Gilmore 2, it makes one curious about what broke the ice after years of silence.
Shortly after Netflix confirmed a Happy Gilmore sequel was in the making last May, Adam Sandler began promoting his stand-up special Love You. During the press tours, the star let in on the then-progress of Happy Gilmore 2 while revealing the highly anticipated Travis Kelce cameo awaiting viewers in the film in an episode of The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon. Speaking of the fan requests for a sequel over these years, Sandler admitted he was initially scared of letting fans down.
But the Murder Mystery actor has since come a long way. “We’re continuing to try to make it a movie that I think you’ll like,” he added. In a separate interview with The Hollywood Reporter last year during the New York screening of Love You, Sandler was finally asked what’s been on every mind since Happy Gilmore 2’s greenlight. Given the sequel is scheduled to arrive nearly two decades after the original’s release, questions were bound to arise.
Sandler shed light on the decision, affirming this was indeed the perfect time to revisit the original because he and Tim Herlihy had finally found a way in. “The idea that me and my buddy Tim Herlihy had and the more we talked about it and scene to scene worked on it, it built, and we feel very strong about the movie itself,” he said. But how he had a change of heart and what exactly catalysed a go-ahead for Happy Gilmore 2 remains a mystery.
“I don’t know how all of a sudden our brains said, ‘Let’s do that.’ It just kind of happened,” Sandler explained. Dugan didn’t foresee Happy Gilmore 2, but he presciently warned about Tinseltown’s insatiable appetite for revivals, a prophecy that would come to fruition a decade later. However, unlike the original, Dugan is not attached to the sequel.
Kyle Newacheck has directed Happy Gilmore 2, co-authored by Sandler and Herlihy. But anyone who hopes to jump on the bandwagon and land straight on the sequel should reconsider that idea. Happy Gilmore 2 picks up 30 years after Happy’s PGA Tour Championship victory. And this time, retired golfer Happy returns to the field to pay for his daughter’s ballet school. However, without Happy Gilmore, there would be no sequel.
Happy Gilmore 2 borrows heavily from the 1996 film. As a result, the lack of knowledge about the original might render it a challenge to grasp the Easter eggs about to come in the upcoming Netflix film. The two-decade gap already left viewers scouring for a recap, but now, it’s time to buckle up before July 25th as Happy Gilmore 2 is almost ready to churn out a laughter riot.