Adam Sandler Eyes Ariana Grande For 90s Classic Reboot

Adam Sandler tossed out a remake idea I did not have on my bingo card: Ariana Grande starring in a new take on The Waterboy. And then Ariana immediately, politely, shut it down.

How this even came up

The two sat down for Variety and CNN's Actors on Actors chat, and Grande used her time to go deep on Bobby Boucher. She talked about how Sandler balances big, goofy characters with real human truth, and singled out The Waterboy as a performance that weirdly hits both notes for her. Translation: yes, a late-90s Sandler football comedy makes her cry. A lot.

Sandler on Bobby, in his own words

Sandler said his kids had shown him clips of Grande talking about Bobby, which clearly meant a lot to him. He described how much he loves playing that guy and connecting to Bobby as an outsider who just wants to feel safe and calm with his mother — while also being a little scared of her. He was genuinely touched that it resonated with Grande the way it does with him.

The pitch... and the immediate no

Because Grande is so into the character, Sandler floated a very specific casting idea for a hypothetical redo: his Happy Gilmore co-star Ben Stiller as Bobby, with Grande as Vicky Valencourt. He even added that he does not know who would remake it and that he, personally, should never be the one to do it. Grande, for her part, was not about to mess with a classic.

'If they are ever redoing The Waterboy ... maybe Ben Stiller can play Bobby, and you can play Vicky Valencourt.'

'Oh my goodness, no. Leave perfect things alone as they are. You do such a magnificent job of grounding your comedy and humanness.'

A quick refresher on The Waterboy

• Released: 1998
• Director: Frank Coraci
• Writers: Adam Sandler and Tim Herlihy
• Reception: Critics were not kind at the time
• Box office: Over $190 million worldwide on a $23 million budget
• Status now: Firmly in cult-classic territory and one of Sandler's most loved comedies