What to Expect from Happy Gilmore 2

If Tom Cruise can make a fortune with a Top Gun sequel that many years later, what’s stopping Adam Sandler from having some fun with Happy Gilmore 2? The original came out in 1996, but almost 30 years later, we are set to get a sequel to one of Sandler’s most popular comedies about a hockey player turned professional golfer.

We only learned back in March from actor Christopher McDonald, who played the iconic Shooter McGavin, that this project was a go. It has started filming, and we are picking up on many entertainment rumors about who is making a cameo appearance.

While we still have a lot to learn about this sequel before betting on it at online sportsbooks, here is what we know you can expect from Happy Gilmore 2.

Who Is Making Happy Gilmore 2?

Happy Gilmore 2 is going to be a Netflix film as they continue their working relationship with Sandler. It will be directed by Kyle Newacheck, who was the creator of the series Workaholics, and he’s been a producer and director for the FX vampire comedy series What We Do in the Shadows. He doesn’t have an extensive list of films he’s directed, but he already directed Sandler in the 2019 comedy Murder Mystery for Netflix.

But fear not, because Sandler and longtime collaborator Tim Herlihy are back as the writing duo for the screenplay. They wrote Happy Gilmore together in 1996, so you can expect the story to be in good hands.

Which Cast Members Are Returning for Happy Gilmore 2?

Since it was almost 30 years ago, many of the key cast members in Happy Gilmore have sadly passed away, including Carl Weathers (Chubbs) just earlier this year. We also know Happy’s grandma (actress Frances Bay), his old boss Mr. Larson (played by giant Richard Kiel), and the crowd heckler Donald (played by Joe Flaherty) are no longer with us.

Former Price Is Right host Bob Barker also passed away last year at 99, and his fight scene with Sandler in the original is a classic cameo.

But we are getting some key cast members back. Julie Bowen may be most famous for Modern Family, but a lot of us first learned about her as Virginia Venit in Happy Gilmore. She’s back, and apparently, she’s still with Happy in this sequel as we can only assume they’re a couple. Then McDonald is back as Shooter McGavin, Happy’s rival golfer from the original. It’d be hard to make the sequel without him in some capacity.

Details of other returning cast members are scarce, but it wouldn’t be that surprising to see Allen Covert return as Otto, Happy’s caddy. Covert is a close Sandler friend and almost always appears in his movies.

Dennis Dugan directed Happy Gilmore and had a small acting role as Doug Thompson. He is listed in the credits to reprise that role for Happy Gilmore 2 even if he’s no longer directing.

Who Are the New Cast Members in Happy Gilmore 2?

While the roles are kept under wraps for now, there are many rumors (some confirmed) about who will be in the cast of Happy Gilmore 2, even if it’s just a cameo appearance.

You can’t escape him in 2024, because Travis Kelce is everywhere, including Happy Gilmore 2. The NFL star has his own game show on Amazon Prime, he’s in the FX series Grotesquerie, he’s in every other commercial, and now he’s going to be in the sequel of a movie he apparently loves. But there is no word on Taylor Swift showing up, and it’s not confirmed that Sydney Sweeney (Euphoria) will play “Cart Girl” as internet rumors tried to say months ago.

However, singer Bad Bunny has been confirmed for Happy Gilmore 2. He is no stranger to acting too with appearances in Bullet Train and the Netflix crime series Narcos: Mexico. AEW wrestler MJF (Maxwell Jacob Friedman) has also been cast in the movie as Gordie Gilmore, one of Happy’s sons. Some footage of him on set has leaked to social media.

FIRST LOOK:
MJF IN HAPPY GILMORE 2@AEW pic.twitter.com/e1HtHLmxSv

— comiczthingz (@comiczthingz18) October 5, 2024

Director and actor Benny Safdie is confirmed to have a “juicy role” in the film. He directed Sandler in Uncut Gems, so this makes sense. Safdie is also a skilled comedic actor if you’ve watched him in the Nathan Fielder series The Curse with Emma Stone last year.

Actress Margaret Qualley (Netflix’s Maid) has been showing off her best assets in The Substance, but she dropped the news on Jimmy Fallon that she has a small part in Happy Gilmore 2.

Golfer John Daly has confirmed he’ll have a cameo in the film. The 58-year-old they call “Long John” is still on the PGA Tour. Nick Swardson is also confirmed to be in the movie as another frequent Sandler collaborator.

What Is the Plot for Happy Gilmore 2?

We still have no plot details at all about Happy Gilmore 2. You can only speculate on what it will be about. Julie Bowen did spoil that there are de-aging flashback scenes that will use CGI to make the characters look younger. That could be a way to shift time after such a long delay between sequels.

As for the actual plot, your guess is as good as mine. They’ll probably have to have Shooter McGavin play a critical role as McDonald seems heavily involved with this sequel getting off.

Maybe Happy and Shooter have to work together on the Ryder Cup team, which would be a new dynamic compared to the original film. Maybe they are still meeting each other on the PGA Tour, or possibly the Senior Tour given their ages.

An idea I still am partial to is that Shooter and Happy both have sons who got into golf, and the fathers serve as their caddies during a major event. It’s just another way to continue the rivalry, and maybe the clip of MJF suggests he has anger issues just like his dad did. But we’ll see what they came up with as Sandler rarely does sequels, especially for his classics.

When Is Happy Gilmore 2 Coming Out?

There is a tentative release date of March 2025 for Happy Gilmore 2, which would be streaming on Netflix when it comes out. But that is not confirmed as filming is still going on. You can likely expect it sometime in 2025.