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 certainly one of the very best youngsters films ever made. The basic Richard Donner-directed 1985 movie, which follows a gaggle 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 Additional 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 encompasses a killer Cyndi Lauper track in addition.

Like so many different revered ’80s hits that audiences preserve 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 doubtlessly carry the torch ahead. Nicely, whereas that may seem to be an concept followers might heat as much as, they’d be higher off tempering these expectations. In reality, “The Goonies 2” has been caught within the will-they, received’t-they part 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 speak of a sequel did.

Attempting to get clarification on whether or not “The Goonies 2” might ever really occur is a little bit like making an attempt to maneuver by means of 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 exhausting. [Executive producer] Steven [Spielberg] and I, we pitched a few issues to them and, fairly truthfully, they weren’t proper,” Donner advised IGN in 2006. “And we put it apart. If I might ever discover a actually good deal with on a screenplay for it, I would go pitch it once more, as a result of speaking about [something] I would wish to see. […] It is extraordinary. However it’s bought 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 govt 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 provide you with an concept, however then it would not maintain water.” Sadly, solely a yr after that, Donner handed away, forsaking an unbelievable physique of labor and an area for the sequel that few would dare to fill. Nevertheless, as rightfully put by one of many authentic Goonies, who would even wish to see it, anyway?

Even after Donner’s dying, murmurs of a sequel to “The Goonies” have continued as just lately as 2024, with Martha Plimpton, who performed Stef within the authentic 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 ‘hooked up,’ Spielberg isn’t directing. It is not actual.” It won’t be the information followers wished to listen to, however within the eyes of the oldest Goonie, Josh Brolin, maybe that is an excellent factor.

When requested a couple of “Goonies” sequel throughout a March 2024 interview with Yahoo!, the “Dune” star — who performed Astin’s onscreen older brother in Donner’s authentic 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 very great method, era after era I get to see that.” Even in spite of everything these years, Brolin cherishes the place “The Goonies” holds within the hearts of audiences and has no need 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 you should weigh it out with one thing else? Inform me, what would it not be like?” he added. And for those who actually need a solution to that, technically all you should do is fireplace up an outdated Nintendo Leisure System to search out out.

Whereas some followers may nonetheless be holding out hope that we’ll be dusting off our treasure maps and practising our piano taking part in 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 friends, but it surely was additionally one of many first-ever exploration platform video games.

Whereas it could be slightly dated these days, the sport does characteristic 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 step by step 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 would ultimately get to a different “Goonies” movie could be a associated undertaking on Disney+ (one which, very similar to “The Goonies 2,” additionally has but to get absolutely off the bottom).

In 2021, Disney+ snagged the rights to a brand new present a couple of 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 desires of saving their properties), would particularly concentrate on a faculty instructor who, after returning house, helps a trio of youngsters remake their favourite film (“The Goonies,” naturally). It is a undertaking that might virtually actually 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 best way of additional updates to report on. That is not too shocking at this stage, both, given Disney’s hit or miss monitor file relating to nostalgia-heavy originals for its streaming service. In any case, the Home of Mouse invested a complete 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 completely.

There’s additionally one other and maybe extra evident challenge — 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 lately.

These days, there are quite a few movies and TV exhibits that’ve finished 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 is not 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, distant for their very own family-friendly story a couple of group of children who depart their house behind searching for journey.

“We had talked about that as an total casting concept doubtlessly, the place it is like, ought to we discover some youngsters 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 means of. However no, there’s positively a chance 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 means of these moments and homages that we have already gotten to get pleasure from loads of revisits to the Goon Docks ultimately or one other, even with out an precise “Goonies” sequel.