Adam Sandler is returning to rom-com for the first time since “Just Go With It,” attaching himself to an untitled project for Warner Bros. that explores the growing phenomenon of “blended families.”
Drew Barrymore is being eyed as the female lead, but no offer has been made. Sandler plans to make this his next film with a May production start, and a director search is under way.
Laffer centers on a couple who, after a disastrous blind date, find themselves stuck together with their kids from a previous marriage. Sandler had been expected to star next in Paramount’s comedy Western “The Ridiculous 6,” but that project was pushed for script revisions.
Happy Madison will produce the Warner Bros. rom-com along with Mike Karz; Josie Rosen is exec producing for Karz and Gulfstream Pictures. Ivan Menchell and Clare Sera penned the original script.
Though he doesn’t do many rom-coms, Sandler’s track record with the genre has been stellar: Sony’s “Just Go With It” bowed over Valentine’s Day weekend in 2011 and grossed more than $215 million worldwide. “50 First Dates” and “The Wedding Singer” were also hits.
WME-repped Sandler can be seen next in Sony’s “Grown Ups 2.”
