“He sits. He stays. He shoots. He scores.” These immortal words were transcribed on the promotional material for the 1997 film, “Air Bud.” The live-action Disney family comedy made us believe that a dog could play basketball. It was the kind of film that only the ’90s really could have generated in theaters and ultimately resulted in a direct to video franchise that produced more films than you probably would’ve guessed. But what was once old is new again, and Air Budis going to be returning to the big screen in the upcoming, appropriately named film, “Air Bud Returns.”
Cineverse is teaming with Air Bud Entertainment, (yes Air Bud has his own production company) to bring this new project to fruition at the hands of long time series director, writer, and producer, Robert Vince. Vince has served as a producer on the series from the beginning and wrote and directed ten of the sequels and spinoffs. According to Yolanda Macias from Cineverse, “With the return of an iconic franchise that has remained popular since Robert created the OG Air Bud more than 28 years ago, we are offering a real treat that will resonate with fans across generations.”
Maybe you’re not really ready for Air Bud to come back, but you certainly aren’t ready for the plot of this one. Did you expect Air Bud to get meta? Because it’s about to. According to the press release for the film, it’s about a 12-year-old named Jacob who wants to play basketball but is dealing with the death of his father. But in going through his father’s belongings, he finds a copy of “Air Bud” on VHS and then just so happens to meet a stray golden retriever. So this film doesn’t take place in the previous Air Bud universe, instead it takes place in a world where the film itself exists, which would imply that people have seen this movie and yet a dog is still going to be allowed to play basketball.
As Vince himself puts it, “This movie will engage nostalgic Air Bud fans while introducing a new generation to the beloved basketball playing golden retriever, Buddy.” Actually sounds like the original film served that purpose just fine but what the hell, we need more kids’ sports films in the world. “Air Bud Returns” is shooting for a 2026 release. We’ll see if that also marks the end of days for humanity.
