Carl Weathers and Adam Sandler in 'Happy Gilmore.' Courtesy of Everett Collection Share on Facebook Share on X Share to Flipboard Send an Email Show additional share options Share on LinkedIn Share on Pinterest Share on Reddit Share on Tumblr Share on Whats App Print the Article Post a Comment Adam Sandler said he had to rewrite Happy Gilmore 2 following Carl Weathers' death. The actor and comedian who is reprising his role as Happy Gilmore in the sequel to his beloved 1996 sports comedy recently told Collider that Weathers' Derick "Chubbs" Peterson was planned to return for the new movie before he died last year at age 76. "We had a painful change. Carl Weathers had a massive part," Sandler shared. "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." Related Stories General News Wrestling Legend Kevin Von Erich Returns to the Texas Stage for AEW's 'All In' General News Netflix's New Releases Coming in July 2025 Sandler added that in initial drafts of the sequel's script, Chubbs had a much larger presence. "In the first version that we came up with, he had a son," he said. "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." Weathers played Chubbs, a pro golfer who is forced to retire after his hand is bitten off by an alligator, having to use a wooden hand, in 1996's Happy Gilmore. Happy Gilmore 2, directed by Kyle Newacheck, premieres on Netflix July 25. Christopher McDonald, Julie Bowen and Ben Stiller also reprised their roles from the original film, while new castmembers include Bad Bunny, Margaret Qualley, Benny Safdie, Travis Kelce and Kym Whitley. Following Weathers' death, Sandler took to social media to pay tribute to his former co-star. "A true great man. Great dad. Great actor. Great athlete," he wrote at the time. "So much fun to be around always. Smart as hell. Loyal as hell. Funny as hell. Loved his sons more than anything. What a guy!!" THR Newsletters Sign up for THR news straight to your inbox every day Subscribe Sign Up Heat Vision Marvel's Kevin Feige Talks Scaling Back, Losing Kang and His Texts to James Gunn After 'Superman' Sarah Michelle Gellar Jennifer Love Hewitt Says She's "Not Talked" to Sarah Michelle Gellar Since Original 'I Know What You Did Last Summer' Heat Vision Madelyn Cline Reveals the Last-Minute Changes to 'I Know What You Did Last Summer' Heat Vision Box Office: 'Superman' Flexes Impressive Staying Power, Flies Past $400M Globally Pee-wee Herman 'Pee-wee's Big Adventure' Original Red Bike Acquired by the Alamo superman James Gunn Recalls Telling Henry Cavill He Wasn't Returning as Superman: "It Was Really Unfair to Him" Heat Vision Marvel's Kevin Feige Talks Scaling Back, Losing Kang and His Texts to James Gunn After 'Superman' Sarah Michelle Gellar Jennifer Love Hewitt Says She's "Not Talked" to Sarah Michelle Gellar Since Original 'I Know What You Did Last Summer' Heat Vision Madelyn Cline Reveals the Last-Minute Changes to 'I Know What You Did Last Summer' Heat Vision Box Office: 'Superman' Flexes Impressive Staying Power, Flies Past $400M Globally Pee-wee Herman 'Pee-wee's Big Adventure' Original Red Bike Acquired by the Alamo superman James Gunn Recalls Telling Henry Cavill He Wasn't Returning as Superman: "It Was Really Unfair to Him"