Why Is Virginia Dead in Adam Sandler's Comedy Sequel, 'Happy Gilmore 2'?

Fans waited almost two decades for Happy Gilmore 2 to be produced. The sequel allowed Adam Sandler to return as the titular golf star, after saving his grandmother's house in the first movie. But a development in the second movie that no one expected was the death of a major character during the first minutes of the film.

Virginia Venit (Julie Bowen) was introduced as a public relations expert in Happy Gilmore. The character wanted to improve Happy's reputation with the media, but the two ended up falling in love in the process. However, Happy Gilmore 2 killed the character off during the first minutes of the story, shocking fans in the process. Why was Virginia killed off so suddenly in Happy Gilmore 2? Here's what we know about the reasoning behind the sequel's shocking tragedy.

The director of Happy Gilmore 2, Kyle Newacheck, was very confident about killing off Virginia during the first minutes of the sequel. Here's what the filmmaker told Slash Film about the decision: "There’s always a concern when you’re playing with that type of darkness. But I don’t know, I was never really concerned because it is the driving force [of the film]. If you pull that out, then what do you have? You don’t have anything real."

During an interview with Variety, Julie Bowen talked about what she felt when she first read the script for Happy Gilmore 2. The actor was on vacation, without a decent ounce of Wi-Fi that could allow her to communicate with Adam Sandler. Even if her character was going to be killed in quick fashion, the actor was grateful for the opportunity to return for the sequel. Julie thought Adam and Netflix wouldn't even ask for her to come back.

Julie Bowen believed Happy Gilmore would've met a younger partner between the events of the first and the second movie: "I didn’t think they’d bring me back at all. I mean, who am I supposed to be? He’s got to have a younger woman in this one."

While the death of Virginia set the tone for Happy Gilmore 2, it's important for fans to remember that Adam Sandler's character lived through another tragedy at the beginning of the first movie. The hockey player's father (portrayed by Louis O'Donoghue) is killed after a stray hockey puck directly hits him.

These unfortunate deaths are what send Happy Gilmore to pursue bigger goals for himself. In the first movie, the athlete had to save his grandmother and her house. In Happy Gilmore 2, Adam's character has to do everything in his power to finance his daughter's expensive ballet academy. Without random comedic deaths, Happy Gilmore would have no motivation to entertain audiences from all over the world.

Years after Julie Bowen appeared as Virginia Venit for the first time, her career took off thanks to her role as Claire Dunphy in Modern Family. Over the course of a decade, Julie portrayed a sensitive mother who only wanted what was best for her children. After Modern Family came to and end, Julie got to work with Adam Sandler once again thanks to Hubie Halloween and Happy Gilmore 2.