Shaquille O’Neal Teases What It Will Take to Be in Another Adam Sandler Film (Exclusive)

What will it take to get Shaquille O’Neal in another Adam Sandler film? According to the basketball legend, a “petition” is what could do the trick. In an exclusive interview with PopCulture.com this past March, O’Neal revealed how he landed in four of Sandler’s films over the years. But in a recent chat, the 49-year-old addressed how he might be able to squeeze into another one with the help of fans.

“Create a petition and give it to Adam,” he teased. O’Neal has made appearances in four Sandler films including Grown Ups 2, Jack and Jill, Blended and more recently, Hubie Halloween. But there’s a special reason why he’s been in specifically four. “Crazy thing about the Adam Sandler movies — he used to sit there with Jack Nicholson, I used to always — especially after I scored a bucket and the crowd goes crazy — I’d be like, ‘Adam, give me a movie!’ He would say, ‘Win a championship first.’” Once the NBA champion won more than one, he eventually got a call from Sandler, who admitted by the time he heard from the Big Daddy star, he forgot all about it. “He called me up one day and said, ‘Shaq, you got four championships, I owe you four movies,’” he explained, and the rest was history.

While O’Neal did confirm he’s not shooting any Sandler films this summer, earlier this year the Big Daddy actor announced he would greenlight a Happy Gilmore sequel. The Saturday Night Live alum and Happy Gilmore co-star Christopher McDonald appeared on The Dan Patrick Show, talking about the film turning 25 this year, and when Sandler was asked by Patrick if there would be a sequel, he dropped the Happy Gilmore teaser that fans have been waiting to hear. “Yes. Yes, you can green light this,” he confirmed. Although, he did backtrack a little after, adding, “It has not been discussed but it has certainly been discussed on the internet. Believe me, that Senior Tour idea, it would be so amazing.”

O’Neal was excited to share that The General, a company for which he’s been the spokesperson for six years now, officially bought the naming rights for NRG’s Rocket League team, making it the first Rocket League naming rights agreement in the history of North America. “I’ve been with The General for about six years, I’ve been with NRG probably a little bit more, and it was just great synergies. You got the Rocket League; cars got crushed; it was great to introduce them to The General,” he explained. Starting July 6, fans can vote from four jersey designs for the team’s new jerseys that will debut in August. Participants have through July 20 to do so at their official website.