Happy Gilmore 2: Everything we know so far – from cast to release date

Happy Gilmore 2 is happening! But you already knew that. It’s been the worst-kept secret in golf for years.

Netflix – the streaming giant that has made Adam Sandler the highest-paid actor in the world thanks to a $250 million deal – confirmed the news in May.

Happy Gilmore is back! Adam Sandler will reprise his iconic role in a brand new movie coming to Netflix. pic.twitter.com/AERdtqlJ6j

— Netflix (@netflix) May 15, 2024

So what do we know about the sequel to the greatest golf movie ever made? (Please don’t @ me, Caddyshack fans.)

We’ll get into that shortly, but first…

How did the idea for Happy Gilmore come about?

“It was my dad, actually,” Sandler revealed in a recent interview. “He liked golf, and we used to go to the driving range a lot.

“I had a great friend, Kyle McDonough, who ended up playing pro hockey, and he came out with me and my dad. We were young, maybe ninth grade or something, and he didn’t play much golf, but he was banging them.

“My father kept saying, ‘Man, you hockey players, there’s something about your wrist, the way you turn.'”

Years later, that comment turned out to be an inspiration.

Sandler continued: “I think I was in college, or finishing up college, and I thought, ‘Man, that would be pretty funny to see a guy with a hockey mentality have such a big hit that he gets on the tour.’

“And I remember calling my dad and telling him about it, and I go, ‘What do you think?’ And he was like, ‘It could be pretty good, we’ll see.’ But me and my buddy [Tim] Herlihy, who I write all the movies with, would write that, and we would call my dad say, ‘Does this make sense in golf?’ All the ‘it’s all in the hips’ stuff? That was my dad, because he would say that when we would putt. And that’s why we wrote that.”

Who is in Happy Gilmore 2?

Before we get to those who will be in the film, sadly many stars of the 1996 original have passed on, including Carl Weathers, who played Chubbs, Frances Bay, who played Gilmore’s grandmother, Bob Barker, the legendary entertainer who had a cameo as Gilmore’s pro-am punch-up partner, and Richard Kiel, who stole the show as Mr Larson.

Sandler will return as the eponymous lead, of course, while Netflix has confirmed that Christopher McDonald will reprise his role as arch-rival Shooter McGavin and Julie Bowen, now a huge TV star after the phenomenal success of Modern Family, is back as love interest Virginia Venit.

Others confirmed to have roles in Happy Gilmore 2 include Travis Kelce – who you will either know as an NFL star and Taylor Swift’s boyfriend – who said Happy Gilmore was the reason he first decided to pick up a club.

Speaking to Sandler on his New Heights podcast that he hosts with brother Jason, Kelce said: “You inspired an entire generation to get on the golf course. I promise you. I was one of the kids. We were hockey players growing up so we used to go up to the public course all the time, and just wanted to absolutely hammer them and and hit them with the Happy Gilmore swing.”

Sandler also revealed that the scene in which Kelce will feature “is with so many great golfers”.

While rumours of a an appearance from Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy are swirling, nothing official has been confirmed – though two-time major champion John Daly did let one secret slip during a recent interview.

As for the other side of the camera, Happy Gilmore 2 will be directed by Kyle Newacheck, who has already worked with Sandler on the Netflix film Murder Mystery. The original’s director, Dennis Dugan, who also played tour chief Doug Thompson, will have an executive role.

• Meet the star of Happy Gilmore who became an Ivy League grad and schizophrenia professor

What is the plot of Happy Gilmore 2?

So what will actually happen in the film? Well, Sandler is keeping this close to his chest for now.

“The movie itself just picks up an older guy who’s played golf a long time,” he said. “And some stuff has gone on in his life. He’s a little different. He’s a bit of a mess. And then we just try to get his cooking again.”

But while he is light on detail, Sandler did confirm that the film is going to be “funny as hell”.

And finally, what is the Happy Gilmore 2 release date?

While Netflix is yet to confirm when the sequel will be released, filming has begun.

Happy Gilmore 2 is officially in production ⛳️ pic.twitter.com/IznOshH5Es

— Netflix (@netflix) September 9, 2024

And while that is all very exciting, don’t expect to see it any time soon. For a film like this, it is generally a year from when filming starts to release day, so it will be a surprise if it’s on our screens before September 2025 – though Daly did say it might be much sooner.

Of course we will keep you updated right here should anything happen.

But for now, why don’t you just go eat some hay? Make things out of clay? Lay by the bay? I just may…

Alex Perry is the Associate Editor of bunkered. A journalist for more than 20 years, he has been a golf industry stalwart for the majority of his career and, in a five-year spell at ESPN, covered every sporting event you can think of. He completed his own Grand Slam at the 2023 Masters, having fallen in love with the sport at his hometown club of Okehampton and on the links of nearby Bude & North Cornwall.

Associate Editor