Perhaps the biggest argument against the idea of Virginia dying is that an interview with Julie Bowen on “The TODAY Show” had her confirming that Virginia and Happy are still together in “Happy Gilmore 2.”
However, that doesn’t mean Virginia can’t die at the beginning of the movie after some gaps have been filled in, like setting up the birth of their children. (There’s even a flashback shot featuring a de-aged Sandler and Bowen with a toddler in the opening of the new trailer.) Let’s also not forget that the original “Happy Gilmore” began with Happy filling the audience in on what happened in his life as a child, right up until the present day of the story. So, we’ll likely get the same treatment here, and there’s a chance he might cover Virginia’s death in that sequence, seeing as he did the same thing with his father’s sudden death in the first movie.
Beyond that, there are two potential moments that take a bit away from that theory. Each of them could easily be explained to fit into this theory as well, but we just want to cover our bases.
First of all, the teaser trailer for “Happy Gilmore” has a quick shot of Virginia in the crowd at a golf tournament (seen above), where she seems to be waving at Happy. But there’s something about this shot that makes it seem like Happy is the only one who sees her. Maybe that’s something that initially throws him off, until he’s able to come to terms with her death.
NetflixSecondly, there’s a shot of Virginia talking to Happy on what appears to be the porch of grandma’s house, where she says, “We’re not done with golf,” before we hear the same line from the second trailer, “Let them see the Happy that I fell in love with.” But again, this moment could be something that only Happy is seeing, and maybe once he starts to soften, having seen Virginia seemingly pop up unexpectedly, he finally gets a chance to speak with her spirit.
It wouldn’t be out of the ordinary, especially when you consider the fact that Happy received a message from Chubbs in his happy place, as well as seeing the ghosts of Chubbs, the alligator he assaulted, and Abraham Lincoln in a cloud above grandma’s house at the end of the original movie.
While we’d much prefer if Virginia was alive, I suppose if you need to upend Happy’s presumed happy ending, this is the easiest way to do it. Just a shame that it means fridging Virginia Venit.
We’ll just have to see what happens when “Happy Gilmore 2” hits Netflix on July 25, 2025.
