Air Bud Returns Takes Athletic Golden Retriever to a New Basketball Court in 2026

Everyone’s favourite diversion canine is coming backmost for a sequel with Air Bud Returns adjacent summer.

The canine lovers down Air Bud Entertainment and Cineverse announced different sequel successful its enactment of sports-playing canine movies today. It’s an announcement of organisation rights for the second that volition spot Air Bud Returns bouncing its mode to theaters sometime successful the summertime of 2026.

Air Bud Entertainment and Cineverse accidental their extremity is for the caller Air Bud movie to spark a “potentially semipermanent collaboration,” but the 2 entities halt abbreviated of spelling retired what different projects could get successful the future. portion nary crippled oregon casting details person been revealed, we astatine slightest cognize Air Bud Returns volition archer a unsocial communicative successful the puppy-centered cinematic universe, and, astir importantly, it stars a Golden Retriever.

“In Air Bud Returns, 12-year aged Jacob has ever dreamt of being a prima hoops player,” an authoritative statement says. “After the passing of his father, that imagination felt adjacent much impossible. But everything changes erstwhile helium and his ma determination into his dad's puerility location successful Fernfield. There, Jacob discovers an archetypal VHS of the Air Bud movie successful his father’s belongings and has a accidental gathering of a stray aureate retriever helium names Buddy. Together they embark connected a travel of healing, unite a squad of misfits, and pursuit a championship. Through it each they larn to play from the heart, judge successful each other, and ever instrumentality the shot!"

Robert Vince, shaper for the archetypal 1997 Air Bud and each of its galore sequels, has stepped up arsenic writer and manager for Air Bud Returns. In a statement, helium teased a movie that tells a “deeply quality story” with themes of “adaptation, redemption, and teamwork.”

“Air Bud Returns isn’t conscionable different sequel oregon remake — it’s a unsocial story,” Vince said. “This movie volition prosecute nostalgic Air Bud fans portion introducing a caller procreation to the beloved basketball-playing aureate retriever, Buddy. It builds upon the bequest of the OG Air Bud with each the fun, the magic, heartwarming scenes, and Buddy playing basketball.”

Air Bud emerged arsenic the movie world’s archetypal basketball-playing Golden Retriever successful the precocious ‘90s and rapidly spawned a litter of sequels. These scope from its archetypal 1998 follow-up, Air Bud: Golden Receiver, each the mode to the Air Buddies spinoffs, which see projects similar 2009’s Space Buddies, 2012’s Treasure Buddies, and 2013’s Super Buddies. Including the Santa Paws franchise, determination are 14 films successful total, with Vince penning and directing 10 of them.

Air Bud Returns has nary merchandise day extracurricular of its summertime theatrical 2026 window. For more, you tin work our 6/10 reappraisal of the archetypal movie’s Special Edition DVD release. You tin besides spot wherever Air Bud falls connected our database of the 13 champion hoops movies.

Michael Cripe is simply a freelance contributor with IGN. He's champion known for his enactment astatine sites similar The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be definite to springiness him a travel connected Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).