Adam Sandler reveals ‘painful' reason why he had to rewrite ‘Happy Gilmore 2'
Carl Weathers was set to reprise his role as Derick 'Chubbs' Peterson in the upcoming sequel to 'Happy Gilmore' before he died at age 76.
'We had a painful change. Carl Weathers had a massive part,' Adam Sandler, 58, revealed in a new interview with Collider. 'I would talk to Carl, and we were excited, and then Carl passed away.'
8 Carl Weathers, Adam Sandler in 'Happy Gilmore.'
Getty Images
'We had to rewrite a lot of the stuff, and even what the story was,' the comedy actor continued. 'We made a lot of nice references to how great Chubbs was in the movie. That was the biggest change.'
In 1996's 'Happy Gilmore,' Weathers played the golf mentor to Sandler's Happy Gilmore.
Sandler told Collider that Chubbs had a bigger part in the sequel when they were drafting the initial scripts.
8 Adam Sandler in 'Happy Gilmore 2.'
AP
'In the first version that we came up with, he had a son,' Sandler revealed of Weathers' character. '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.'
8 Adam Sandler, Julie Bowen, Christopher McDonald, and Rich Eisen promote 'Happy Gilmore 2' at Netflix Tudum 2025.
Getty Images for Netflix
8 Christopher McDonald and Adam Sandler in 'Happy Gilmore 2.'
AP
Weathers died of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease in Feb. 2024, seven months before the sequel started shooting.
'A true great man. Great dad. Great actor. Great athlete,' Sandler wrote on Instagram in his tribute to Weathers at the time.
8 Adam Sandler as Happy Gilmore and Carl Weathers as Happy's coach, 'Chubbs' Peterson, in 'Happy Gilmore.'
'So much fun to be around always. Smart as hell. Loyal as hell. Funny as hell,' Sandler continued. 'Loved his sons more than anything. What a guy!! Everyone loved him. My wife and I had the best times with him every time we saw him. Love to his entire family and Carl will always be known as a true legend.'
Earlier this year, 'Happy Gilmore 2' director Kyle Newacheck acknowledged the sequel wouldn't be the same without Weathers.
8 Carl Weathers at the NBC Universal winter press tour in 2017.
AFP via Getty Images
'You can't make Happy Gilmore without Chubbs Peterson, it doesn't exist,' Newacheck, 41, told Collider. 'You can be assured his spirit is throughout the film. He may not be by Happy's side anymore, but he's on his shoulder.'
8 Adam Sandler in 'Happy Gilmore.'
©Universal/courtesy Everett
While filming 'Happy Gilmore,' Weathers suffered a serious injury that caused him back pains for the rest of his life.
'I didn't tell anyone because, you know, I'm tough, man,' he recalled to GQ in 2020. 'Yeah I hurt my back and actually, to this day, it still really bothers me, because it was right on the spine.'
8 Carl Weathers attends 'The Mandalorian' premiere in LA in 2019.
ZUMAPRESS.com
The 'Rocky' star explained that he got hurt during a 'blind fall' stunt and his body 'got trapped' by two stunt bags that crushed on his spine.
'I felt the pain and the burning sensation immediately,' he said. 'But again, I'm an athlete, I'm tough, I'm an actor, let's keep going.'
Netflix's 'Happy Gilmore 2,' also starring Julie Bowen, Christopher McDonald, Ben Stiller, Bad Bunny and Benny Safdie, debuts Friday.
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