If you’re a non-equity actor looking for your big break, and you’re also a literate dog with a Vulture subscription, this is the story for you. The team behind Air Bud Returns launched a nationwide talent search to find the next Air Bud. The 2026 revisit will be written and directed by Robert Vince, the filmmaker who made the original Air Bud back in 1997. Vince and lead animal trainer Mark Forbes laid out the requirements for a would-be Buddy in a video announcement, saying they are looking for “a dog who is a purebred golden retriever who is athletic, and ideally he would love basketball, just like the original Air Bud.”
Thespian golden retrievers can submit their headshots to returns.airbud.com, along with a 60- to 90-second self-tape video in which they perform basic commands (sit, stay, come), show off their special skills (“running, jumping, playing tricks …”), and “show us those basketball moves!” If the Air Bud Returns marketing team knows anything about anything, they’ll surely compile the cutest auditions for the public to watch. The casting call is for dogs only, so actors who specialize in playing golden-retriever types are out of luck. No shade to Glen Powell. For some reason, the video doesn’t explain why the team couldn’t just go to the nice big farm upstate where the original Air Bud lives a happy life running around and cast the original actor. Probably a contract dispute.
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