*Nearly three decades after “Happy Gilmore” teed off on the big screen, Adam Sandler is back as the hockey player-turned-golfer in the highly anticipated sequel, “Happy Gilmore 2,” streaming on Netflix starting July 25.
The film reunites fans with familiar faces like Julie Bowen, Ben Stiller, and Christopher McDonald while introducing new talent, including Bad Bunny (Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio), Sadie and Sunny Sandler, Blake Clark, and a star-studded lineup of cameos featuring Eric André, Margaret Qualley, Eminem, Post Malone, and golf legends like Rory McIlroy, John Daly, and Jack Nicklaus.
However, one key figure from the original 1996 comedy is notably absent: Carl Weathers, who portrayed the unforgettable Derick “Chubbs” Peterson, Happy’s one-handed mentor. In a recent interview with Collider, Sandler, who stars in and co-wrote the sequel, shared that Weathers, who passed away on February 1, 2024, at age 76, was originally slated for a substantial role.
“Carl Weathers had a massive part,” Sandler revealed. “I would talk to Carl, and we were excited, and then Carl passed away. We had to rewrite a lot of the stuff, and even what the story was. We made a lot of nice references to how great Chubbs was in the movie. That was the biggest change.”
In the original film, Chubbs met a humorous end, falling out of a window after being startled by Happy, who presented the head of the alligator that had bitten off his hand. He later appeared in a heavenly cameo. Early scripts for the sequel, crafted by Sandler and co-writer Tim Herlihy, envisioned an emotional storyline involving Chubbs’ legacy.
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“In the first version that we came up with, he had a son,” Sandler explained. “He was coming back to me a lot in my dreams, and he had a son who was mad at Happy for causing the death of daddy.”
Following Weathers’ death, the team reworked the narrative to honor Chubbs’ spirit, with director Kyle Newacheck emphasizing to Collider in April that fans “can be assured his spirit is throughout the [sequel]. He may not be by Happy’s side anymore, but he’s on his shoulder.”
The sequel features a vibrant ensemble, including professional golfers like Paige Spiranac, Scottie Scheffler, Bryson DeChambeau, and Justin Thomas, alongside entertainers like Ken Jennings, Cam’ron, and Becky Lynch.
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