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  • 4 months ago
Air Bud Returns Movie (2026) - Winner Announcement - Air Bud Entertainment today announced that two Golden Retrievers — Charlie and Summer — have been selected as the winners of The Search for the Next Air Bud, a nationwide casting event that captured the hearts of dog lovers across the country.

The search invited Golden Retriever families nationwide to audition their dogs for a chance to take on one of the most beloved canine roles in film history: Buddy, the basketball-playing Golden Retriever who became a household name in the original Air Bud films. After narrowing thousands of submissions down to 30 finalists, and then four, our team selected Charlie and Summer as the two Goldens who best embody Buddy’s athleticism, charm, and heart.

Charlie and Summer will undergo training with professional animal trainers before making their big-screen debut in Air Bud Returns, which begins filming October 1, 2025, in Vancouver, Canada.

With Air Bud Returns, the story comes full circle — reintroducing Buddy to a new generation while celebrating the nostalgia of families who grew up with him.
Transcript
00:00Hi, I'm Robert Vince, the director of Air Bud Returns, and I'm here with Mark
00:04Forbes, lead animal trainer. Over 5,000 of you auditioned your golem retriever to
00:09be the next Air Bud. Criteria that we use were, one, did the dog look like the
00:15original Air Bud? The stage presence and the personality of Buddy. And two, did it
00:20have some training? Did it have a base, a foundation that we could start from? And
00:25then finally, the ability to play basketball. The search for the next Air
00:29Bud has been incredible. We couldn't just choose one. The two winners, they are
00:34Summer from San Diego.
00:48Charlie from Ohio.
00:59Your golden retriever will carry on the legacy of the original Air Bud. Congratulations!
01:06Congratulations!
01:07You
01:09You
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