Despite a plethora of Happy Madison fare currently streaming on Netflix, only one Adam Sandler Netflix movie is getting a sequel. It is confirmed there will be a second installment of Murder Mystery and with it, an almost certainty that Sandler and the ever-busy post-Friends Jennifer Aniston will return to reprise their roles as Nick and Audrey Spitz. Kyle Newacheck makes way for Jeremy Garelick in the directors’ seat, while James Vanderbilt returns with a second script to be filmed in Paris and the Caribbean.
Netflix and Happy Madison Productions have made great bedfellows in recent years, with an initial deal signed in 2014 in which Sandler & his team would produce four films for the streaming giant. This deal has since been extended twice, most recently in early 2020, after Netflix announced that Murder Mystery was not only its most popular movie in 2019 but also the most streamed piece of content in 9 different countries that year. Fast forward to the present day, and Happy Madison currently has 9 Netflix exclusive movies streaming on the platform, with the often underrated Adam Sandler starring in 7 of these.
Despite this apparent success, there are strong reasons why only one Adam Sandler Netflix movie is getting a sequel. Murder Mystery is the only Happy Madison Netflix production to receive an award to date, which, coupled with more favorable critic reviews, makes it the obvious choice for a sequel. Murder Mystery’s plot also lends itself much more easily to a second chapter than other films in Netflix’s Happy Madison repertoire.
While Happy Madison’s Netflix productions tend to garner immense viewing numbers, their critical reception has been, on the whole, woeful since Netflix signed the initial 2014 deal. A movie that Netflix hoped would be a game-changer, The Ridiculous 6 found itself in hot water following a controversial portrayal of the Apache culture, alongside lukewarm reviews. At the same time, The Week Of and Sandy Wexler were panned for their lack of imagination and touted as enjoyable for only the most hardcore of Adam Sandler fans. Murder Mystery bucks the trend somewhat here, as while its critical reception was only slightly better, it holds a 2019 People’s Choice award for favorite comedic movie. Most of the positive reviews for Murder Mystery heavily mention Jennifer Aniston, who sparkles in her role as a bored wife pining for a long-overdue European vacation, and the extra layer of A-list gold dust she adds may well be one of the deciding factors in green-lighting a sequel.
Yet the most glaring evidence of why Murder Mystery is the only Adam Sandler Netflix movie getting a sequel lies in its final scene. The ending of Murder Mystery shows Nick and Audrey boarding the Orient Express, the locomotive famed for hosting its own intricate whodunnit, which heavily implies there will be more trouble ahead for the Spitzes despite their reconciliation. In contrast, Sandler’s other Netflix movies are much more neatly concluded. In Hubie Halloween, Hubie is vindicated by his beliefs and ultimately revered by the town, much as in the same way as the half brothers in The Ridiculous 6 find redemption after confronting their father. Murder Mystery‘s commercial success, star-studded cast, and ambiguous ending ensured the door is always left wide open for Netflix to sign off on a sequel ahead of any other Adam Sandler and Happy Madison options.
