Why did The Goonies 2 never happen?

As far as beloved family adventure films go, The Goonies still holds up nearly 40 years after it arrived on the scene, becoming one of the best family adventure films. The best children’s movies ever. Richard Donner’s 1985 classic, which follows a group of kids searching for treasure to save their neighborhood from being destroyed, is as integral to some fans’ childhoods as ET: The Extra Terrestrial or “The NeverEnding Story” (any other movies where at all nothing causes emotional scarring). It also helped make stars of the likes of Corey Feldman, Sean Astin, Josh Brolin, and Ki-Hui Kwan, and features a killer theme song by Cyndi Lauper.

Like many other ’80s hits that audiences keep coming back to for a dose of nostalgia, “The Goonies” has yet to receive a proper follow-up. By this point, it’s safe to say that “The Goonies 2” will likely take the form of a legacy sequel, complete with nods to the original film, the returning cast looking much older, and a new generation of heroes potentially carrying the torch forward. Well, while this may seem like an idea that fans can get excited about, it’s best to temper those expectations. In fact, The Goonies 2 has been stuck in the will-o’-the-wisps phase, hasn’t it, for decades… As far as Donner’s stars go, The Goonies may never say “die,” but at this point maybe it’s time to talk about a sequel.

Trying to get clarity on whether “The Goonies 2” could actually happen is a bit like trying to maneuver through a series of underground tunnels to locate One-Eyed Willy’s rich goodies. Before his death, Donner said in several interviews that attempts had already been made to return to Goon Docks for a sequel, but not all of the actors were on board. “We did the best we could. (Executive producer) Steven (Spielberg) and I, we showed them some things, and quite frankly, they weren’t right,” Donner said. IGN in 2006. “And we put it aside. If I can find a really good treatment of a scenario, I’ll show it again, because it’s about (something) I want to see. (…) It’s unusual but it has to be right Or don’t, because I didn’t believe this movie.

By 2020, Steven Spielberg – who also deconstructed the story of “The Goonies” Besides serving as an executive producer on the film, he didn’t have much to add to it. “(Goonies screenwriter) Chris (Columbus), Dick and I (…) had a lot of conversations about it,” the legendary director explained on Twitter. Josh Gad’s “Reunited Away” at that time. “Every couple of years we come up with an idea, but it doesn’t stick.” Sadly, just a year later, Donner passed away, leaving behind an impressive body of work and a space for sequels that few will dare to fill. However, as one of the original Goonies said, who would want to see it anyway?

Even after Donner’s death, rumors of a sequel to The Goonies continued into 2024, with Martha Plimpton, who played Steve in the original film, moving on. Instagram To expose the report of The sun That a sequel is poised to begin filming in 2025. Bursting the bubble for fans around the world, Plimpton simply wrote: “Folks, there is no script for Goonies 2, no one is ‘attached’, Spielberg is not directing. This is not real.” This may not be the news fans wanted to hear, but in the eyes of the older Johnny, Josh Brolin, it’s probably a good thing.

When asked about a Goonies sequel during a March 2024 interview with Yahoo!the “Dune” star — who played Astin’s older on-screen brother in the original Donner film — had a sharp reaction. “Personally, why? You know what I mean? I don’t like it,” he admitted. “Film exists in a really wonderful way, generation after generation I see that.” Even after all these years, Brolin cherishes the place The Goonies holds in viewers’ hearts and has no desire to tarnish that. “I mean, it’s great to have something you can see that affects people, and why do you need to balance that with something else? Tell me, what would it be like?” He added. And if you really want an answer to that, all you technically have to do is boot up your old Nintendo Entertainment System to find out.

While some fans may still be hoping that we’ll dust off our treasure maps and practice piano for a cinematic sequel to “Goonies” in the foreseeable future, there’s already a follow-up to the “Goonies” video game titled “The Goonies II”: The Fratelli’s Last Stand.” Released for the NES in 1987 and developed by Konami, “The Goonies II” not only brought us together with Mikey and his buddies, but was also one of the first Exploration platforms at all.

Although it may be somewhat dated nowadays, the game has a plot that sees MIkey going it alone after the rest of the Goonies are kidnapped by the Fratellis after another prison break. Over the course of the game, Mickey gradually rescues the other members of the Goonies one by one, along with a mermaid named Annie who the Fratellis also impregnated (because of course they did).

Suffice it to say, if a sequel to “The Goonies” is released, it’s bound to be dramatically different from “The Goonies II.” But between Donner’s death and even members of the original Goonies cast speaking out against the idea of ​​returning to the Goon Docks, the closest thing we might finally get to another Goonies movie would be a related project on Disney+ (a movie that, just like “The Goonies 2,” has yet to take off completely later).

In 2021, Disney+ acquired the rights to a new show about a group of kids shooting a movie A shot-for-shot remake of “The Goonies” The series, titled “Our Time” (which refers to Mike’s legendary speech about whether the Goonies should go ahead with their adventure or give up on their dreams of saving their homes), will focus specifically on a school teacher who, after returning home, helps a trio of children restore… Production of their favorite movie (“The Goonies,” naturally). It’s a project that will almost certainly catch the attention of “Goonies” fans…assuming it actually gets off the ground, that is.

Before Disney put down its big mouse gloves, Our Time was initially developed as a pilot for Fox in 2020 before moving to Disney+ after Fox decided it veered too young for its purposes. However, since then, there have been few additional updates to report. That’s not too surprising at this point either, given Disney’s track record of hits and misses when it comes to nostalgia-filled originals for its streaming service. After all, the House of Mouse invested a lot of money in it Creating an old sequel series to “Willow” for Disney+, only to quickly cancel the show After one season it was removed from the streaming service entirely.

There’s also another and perhaps more obvious issue — which is that any attempt to continue the “Goonies” franchise directly will have to deal with stiff competition from the spiritual descendants of Donner’s film that have emerged in recent years.

Nowadays, there are many movies and TV shows that have had great success tapping into the spirit of childhood adventure embodied by The Goonies. Streaming series like “Stranger Things” and “Star Wars: Skeleton Crew” similarly evoke the memory of Mickey and his gang tearing down the street on their bikes with their own images of children facing danger and setting off to unknown destinations. It’s not unintentional either. In the case of “Skeleton Crew,” creators/directors Jon Watts and Christopher Ford admitted they tried to cast actors from “The Goonies” to take a trip to a galaxy far, far away for their family-friendly story about a group of young people who leave their homes in search of adventure.

“We talked about it as an overall casting idea, where it’s like, should we find some of the kids who were in those movies and now cast them as adult characters?” As previously revealed by Watts Comic book. “But it wasn’t enough to really keep going. But no, there’s definitely an opportunity there.” Of course, even if they did, that kind of signature was already made in Hawkins with Stranger Things when Astin joined the series as Bob Newby, the short but incredibly brave friend of Joyce Byers (Winona Ryder) and the Knight in a Raincoat Bright yellow just like his younger hero. Through these moments and homages, we’ve already been able to enjoy a lot of visits to Goon Docks in one way or another, even without an actual Goonies sequel.