Why The Goonies 2 By no means Occurred

So far as beloved household journey films go, “The Goonies” nonetheless holds up some 40 years after it arrived on the scene, changing into one among one of the best children films ever made. The traditional Richard Donner-directed 1985 movie, which follows a bunch of youngsters on a treasure hunt to avoid wasting their neighborhood from being torn down, is as integral to some followers’ childhoods as “ET: The Further Terrestrial” or “The NeverEnding Story” (ie. different movies the place completely nothing emotionally scarring occurs). It additionally helped make stars out of the likes of Corey Feldman, Sean Astin, Josh Brolin, and Ke Huy Quan, and includes a killer Cyndi Lauper tune besides.

Like so many different revered ’80s hits that audiences hold going again to for a dose of nostalgia, nonetheless, “The Goonies” has but to obtain a correct followup. By this level, it is secure to say “The Goonies 2” would doubtless take the type of a legacy sequel, full with nods to the unique movie, the returning forged wanting a lot older, and a brand new era of heroes to probably carry the torch ahead. Effectively, whereas that may seem to be an concept followers may heat as much as, they’d be higher off tempering these expectations. In reality, “The Goonies 2” has been caught within the will-they, gained’t-they section for many years … and so far as the celebrities of Donner’s film are involved, the Goonies might by no means say “die,” however at this level maybe it is time that discuss of a sequel did.

Making an attempt to get clarification on whether or not “The Goonies 2” may ever really occur is a little bit like attempting to maneuver by a collection of underground tunnels to find One-Eyed Willy’s wealthy stuff. Earlier than his passing, Donner mentioned in quite a few interviews that makes an attempt had certainly been made to return to the Goon Docks in a brand new installment however that not each actor on board. “We tried actually arduous. [Executive producer] Steven [Spielberg] and I, we pitched a few issues to them and, fairly truthfully, they weren’t proper,” Donner informed IGN in 2006. “And we put it apart. If I may ever discover a actually good deal with on a screenplay for it, I might go pitch it once more, as a result of speaking about [something] I might wish to see. […] It is extraordinary. However it’s received to be proper, or do not do it, as a result of I could not imagine that film.”

By 2020, Steven Spielberg — who additionally cracked the story for “The Goonies” along with serving as an government producer on the movie — did not have a lot so as to add to that. “[‘Goonies’ screenwriter] Chris [Columbus], Dick, and I […] have had lots of conversations about it,” the legendary director defined on Josh Gad’s “Reunited Aside” on the time. “Each couple of years we give you an concept, however then it does not maintain water.” Sadly, solely a 12 months after that, Donner handed away, forsaking an unimaginable physique of labor and an area for the sequel that few would dare to fill. Nevertheless, as rightfully put by one of many unique Goonies, who would even wish to see it, anyway?

Even after Donner’s loss of life, murmurs of a sequel to “The Goonies” have continued as lately as 2024, with Martha Plimpton, who performed Stef within the unique movie, taking to Instagram to debunk a report from The Solar {that a} sequel was gearing as much as begin filming in 2025. Bursting the bubble for followers around the globe, Plimpton merely wrote, “Folks, there is no such thing as a ‘Goonies 2’ script, there is no such thing as a one ‘connected,’ Spielberg isn’t directing. It isn’t actual.” It won’t be the information followers needed to listen to, however within the eyes of the oldest Goonie, Josh Brolin, maybe that is factor.

When requested a few “Goonies” sequel throughout a March 2024 interview with Yahoo!, the “Dune” star — who performed Astin’s onscreen older brother in Donner’s unique film — had a blunt response. “Personally, why? Have you learnt what I imply? I do not prefer it,” he admitted. “The film exists in a extremely fantastic means, era after era I get to see that.” Even in any case these years, Brolin cherishes the place “The Goonies” holds within the hearts of audiences and has no want to taint that. “I imply, it is such an exquisite factor that exists that you simply get to see have an effect on individuals, and why do it’s worthwhile to weigh it out with one thing else? Inform me, what wouldn’t it be like?” he added. And in the event you really need a solution to that, technically all it’s worthwhile to do is hearth up an previous Nintendo Leisure System to seek out out.

Whereas some followers may nonetheless be holding out hope that we’ll be dusting off our treasure maps and training our piano enjoying for a cinematic “Goonies” sequel within the foreseeable future, there’s already a “Goonies” online game followup titled “The Goonies II: The Fratellis’ Final Stand.” Launched for the NES in 1987 and developed by Konami, “The Goonies II” not solely reunited us with Mikey and his buddies, however it was additionally one of many first-ever exploration platform video games.

Whereas it is likely to be slightly dated these days, the sport does function a plot that sees MIkey going it alone after the remainder of the Goonies are kidnapped by the Fratellis following one other jail break. Over the course of the sport, Mikey regularly rescues the opposite members of the Goonies one after the other, together with a mermaid named Annie that the Fratellis had additionally bagged (due to course they did).

Suffice it to say, have been a film sequel to “The Goonies” ever to occur, it must be dramatically completely different from “The Goonies II.” However between Donner passing away and even members of the unique “Goonies” forged talking out towards the concept of returning to the Goon Docks, the closest factor we’d finally get to a different “Goonies” movie can be a associated undertaking on Disney+ (one which, very like “The Goonies 2,” additionally has but to get absolutely off the bottom).

In 2021, Disney+ snagged the rights to a brand new present a few group of youngsters who movie a shot-for-shot remake of “The Goonies,” The collection, titled “Our Time” (which references Mike’s legendary speech about whether or not the Goonies ought to push on with their journey or abandon their goals of saving their properties), would particularly deal with a faculty trainer who, after returning residence, helps a trio of youngsters remake their favourite film (“The Goonies,” naturally). It is a undertaking that will nearly definitely garner the eye of “Goonies” followers … assuming it ever really will get going, that’s.

Previous to Disney getting its outsized mouse-shaped mitts on it, “Our Time” was initially developed as a pilot for Fox in 2020 earlier than making the transfer to Disney+ after Fox determined it skewed too younger for its functions. Since then, nonetheless, there’ve been little to nothing in the way in which of additional updates to report on. That is not too stunning at this stage, both, given Disney’s hit or miss observe document in relation to nostalgia-heavy originals for its streaming service. In any case, the Home of Mouse invested an entire lot of cash into making a “Willow” legacy sequel collection for Disney+, solely to swiftly cancel the present after a single season and take away it from the streaming service solely.

There’s additionally one other and maybe extra obtrusive subject — specifically, any try and proceed the “Goonies” franchise straight must cope with heavy competitors from the non secular descendants of Donner’s movie that’ve popped up in recent times.

These days, there are quite a few movies and TV reveals that’ve executed a bang-up job tapping into the spirit of childhood journey that “The Goonies” embodied. Streaming collection like “Stranger Issues” and “Star Wars: Skeleton Crew” equally evoke the reminiscence of Mikey and his gang tearing down a avenue on their bikes with their very own imagery of youngsters going through hazard and setting off for locations unknown. It isn’t unintentional, both. Within the case of “Skeleton Crew,” creators/showrunners Jon Watts and Christopher Ford have confessed that they even tried to get actors from “The Goonies” to make the journey to a galaxy far, far-off for their very own family-friendly story a few group of children who depart their residence behind seeking journey.

“We had talked about that as an total casting concept probably, the place it is like, ought to we discover some children that have been in these films and now forged them as some grownup characters?” as Watts beforehand revealed to ComicBook. “However it wasn’t sufficient to actually carry by. However no, there’s positively a possibility there.” In fact, even when they did, this form of signing was already achieved over in Hawkins with “Stranger Issues” when Astin joined the collection as Bob Newby, the temporary and extremely courageous boyfriend of Joyce Byers (Winona Ryder) and a knight in a shining yellow raincoat similar to his youthful hero. It is by these moments and homages that we have already gotten to take pleasure in loads of revisits to the Goon Docks ultimately or one other, even with out an precise “Goonies” sequel.