Will Billy Madison 2 Ever Happen?

Ever since "Happy Gilmore 2" came out, fans of Adam Sandler have been curious about whether or not he'll revisit any of his other early big screen comedy hits, including 1995's "Billy Madison." The fan-favorite film, which follows a party-loving hotel heir who goes back to school after being told his father paid to fake his academic successes, established Sandler as a bankable lead in Hollywood and quickly gained a cult following.

The fact that "Happy Gilmore 2" pulled in 46.7 million views when it dropped on Netflix (making it the streaming giant's biggest-ever film debut in the United States) probably means that a follow-up to "Billy Madison" is at least under consideration, but there's been no news on a potential sequel just yet. What's the hold up? And what has Adam Sandler said about the possibility of reprising the role of Billy Madison? Here's what we know.

The most likely reason behind there being zero movement on a "Billy Madison" sequel is that Adam Sandler is a very busy guy these days. He's had a career renaissance lately, both as a comedic and a dramatic actor — in 2025, he co-starred alongside George Clooney in Noah Baumbach's "Jay Kelly," a dramedy about an actor (Clooney) and his manager (Sandler) that received a 10-minute standing ovation at the Venice Film Festival. Sandler expressed a desire to do more dramatic work following the release of 2024's "Spaceman," a sci-fi drama film about an astronaut who comes across an extra-terrestrial creature that helps him work through some of the issues he left behind on Earth.

When it comes to Adam Sandler-led comedy sequels, "Grown Ups 3" actually seems more likely than "Billy Madison 2" at the moment, per comments made by Sandler's friend and frequent collaborator Kevin James. Asked about this on the red carpet of "Happy Gilmore 2," Sandler admitted that he had also "heard chatter" about "Grown Ups 3." However, he was quick to confirm that it wasn't the only idea for a sequel that had been floated behind closed doors. "We're always thinking of some s*** and trying to get us all together," he told IndieWire. "I just don't know what the f*** we're doing right now, but we're trying to figure out stuff." Sandler's probably far too busy at the moment, but there's definitely a chance we'll get another "Billy Madison" movie sometime in the future.

Adam Sandler was asked directly about the possibility of creating a sequel for "Billy Madison" at the red carpet premiere of "Happy Gilmore 2." The question came from a Variety reporter, who got a typically cheeky response from the former "Saturday Night Live" star: "Let's write it tonight!" Sandler jokingly enthused. He was clearly kidding, but the fact that he didn't dance around the question or shoot the idea down will come as music to the ears of "Billy Madison" fans.

There are plenty of places a sequel could go in terms of plot. Billy handed control of his family's hotel empire over to the company's trustworthy operations manager Carl Alphonse (Larry Hankin) and expressed a desire to go to college so he could pursue a teaching career at the end of the first film. Seeing Billy as a teacher would be great, and we could also catch up with Carl to see how things are going with Madison Hotels.

Naturally, the cast of "Billy Madison" looks a lot different today, but many of them are still acting. Sadly, a full reunion wouldn't be possible, as some of the actors from the film are no longer with us, including Norm Macdonald (who played Billy's friend Frank) and Darren McGavin (who played Billy's father). They're just two of many actors from Adam Sandler movies who you may not know are dead.