Why The Goonies 2 Never Happened

When it comes to favorite family adventure movies, The Goonies still holds up nearly 40 years after its release, becoming one of the best children’s movies ever made. The 1985 classic directed by Richard Donner, about a group of kids who hunt for treasure to save their neighborhood from destruction, is as integral to some fans’ childhoods as Alien or “The Neverending Story” (ie other movies where absolutely nothing emotional scars happen). It also helped make stars like Corey Feldman, Sean Astin, Josh Brolin, and Ke Hui Quan, and it also features a killer Cyndi Lauper song.

However, like many other beloved ’80s hits that audiences return to with a touch of nostalgia, “The Goonies” has yet to receive a proper sequel. By this point, it’s safe to say that “The Goonies 2” will likely take the form of a legacy sequel, complete with references to the original film, the returning cast will look much older, and a new generation of characters that will potentially will carry the torch forward. Well, while this might sound like an idea fans could warm to, they’d be better off tempering those expectations. Truth be told, The Goonies 2 has been stuck in the will-you-won’t-they phase for decades … and as far as the stars of Donner’s film go, The Goonies will never be said to die, but at this point, it might be time to continue the conversation.

Trying to get an explanation for whether “The Goonies 2” might ever happen is like trying to maneuver through a series of underground tunnels to find One-Eyed Willie’s riches. Before his death, Donner said in numerous interviews that attempts were indeed made to return to Goon Docks for a new installment, but not all the actors were on board. “We tried very hard. (Executive producer) Steven (Spielberg) and I, we pitched them a couple of things, and frankly, they were wrong,” Donner said IGN in 2006 “And we put that aside. If I could ever find a really good script for it, I’d go pitch it again, because talking about (something) I’d like to see. (… ) It’s unusual, but it has to be right, otherwise don’t do it, because I couldn’t believe that movie.”

By 2020 Steven Spielberg — who also cracked the story for The Goonies in addition to serving as an executive producer on the film – there was nothing to add to that. “(‘Goonies’ screenwriter) Chris (Columbus), Dick and I (…) talked about it a lot,” the legendary director explained on “Reunited Apart” by Josh Gad at that time. “Every couple of years we come up with an idea, but then it doesn’t stand up to criticism.” Sadly, Donner died just a year after that, leaving behind an incredible body of work and a space for a sequel that few would dare fill. However, as one of the original Goonies rightly said, who would want to see that anyway?

Even after Donner’s death in 2024, there was continued clamor for a sequel to “The Goonies” starring Martha Plimpton, who played Steph in the original film. Instagram debunk the report from The sun that the sequel is gearing up to begin filming in 2025. Bursting the bubble for fans around the world, Plimpton simply wrote: “Folks, there is no Gooney 2 script, there is no one ‘attached’, Spielberg is not directing. It’s not real.” It might not be the news fans want to hear, but in the eyes of the oldest gunnie, Josh Brolin, it might be a good thing.

When asked about the Goonies sequel during an interview with Yahoo!the “Dunes” star, who played Donner’s on-screen older brother Austin in the original film, responded sharply. “Personally why? You know what I am? I don’t like it,” he admitted. “Film exists in a really wonderful way, generation after generation I see it.” Even after all these years, Brolin appreciates the place “The Goonies” holds in the hearts of viewers and doesn’t want to spoil it. “I mean, it’s such a wonderful thing that exists, that you see how it affects people, and why would you weigh it against anything else? Tell me, what would it be like?’ he added. And if you really want the answer to that question, technically all you have to do is fire up an old Nintendo entertainment system to find out.

While some fans may still be hoping we’ll be dusting off treasure maps and practicing piano for a Goonies cinematic sequel in the foreseeable future, there’s already a Goonies video game sequel called The Goonies II ” : The Fratellis’ Last Stand.” Released for the NES in 1987 and developed by Konami, The Goonies II not only reunited us with Mikey and his friends, but it was also one of the first ever games on an exploration platform.

​​​​​​While it might be pretty dated nowadays, the game has a storyline that shows 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, Mikey gradually rescues the other members of the Goonies one by one, along with a mermaid named Annie, who the Fratellis also caught (because of course they did).

Suffice to say, if there was a sequel to The Goonies, it would have to be drastically different from The Goonies II. But between Donner’s passing and even members of the original “Goonies” cast opposing the idea of ​​returning to the Goon Docks, the closest thing to another “Goonies” movie will be a Disney+ project (one that looks a lot like ” The Goonies 2″, also not quite done yet).

In 2021, Disney+ acquired the rights to a new show about a group of kids who shoot frame remake of “The Goonies”, Titled “Our Time” (which references Mike’s legendary speech about whether Goonies should continue their adventures or give up their dreams to save their homes), the series will specifically focus on a school teacher who returns home to help a trio of kids remodel your favorite movie (The Goonies, of course). It’s a project that will almost certainly get the attention of “Goonies” fans … assuming it ever actually gets off the ground.

Before Disney got its big mouse-shaped mitts, Our Time was originally developed as a pilot for Fox in 2020 before moving to Disney+ after Fox decided it was too small for its purposes. However, since then there have been almost no further updates worth reporting. It’s also not surprising at this point, given Disney’s track record when it comes to nostalgic originals for its streaming service. After all, the House of Mouse invested a lot of money making an outdated Willow sequel for Disney+, only to quickly cancel the show after one season and remove it from the streaming service entirely.

There’s also another, and perhaps more glaring, problem — namely, that any attempt to directly continue the “Goonies” franchise must face 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 perfectly captured the spirit of childhood adventure that “The Goonies” embodied. Streaming series like Stranger Things and Star Wars: The Crew also evoke Mikey and the gang tearing up the streets on their bikes with their own images of kids facing danger and venturing into the unknown. . This is also not accidental. In the case of “Skeleton Crew,” show creators/showrunners Jon Watts and Christopher Ford admitted they even tried to get the cast of “The Goonies” to travel to a galaxy far, far away for their own family story about a group of young people who leave their home in search of adventure.

“We talked about it as a potential general casting idea, should we find the kids who were in these movies and now cast them as grown-up characters?” as Watts has shown earlier Comic book. “But it wasn’t enough to really get through. But no, there’s definitely a chance.” Of course, even if they did, that kind of signing had already been done with Hawkins with Stranger Things, when Astin joined the series as Bob Newby, Joyce Byers’s (Winona Ryder) short and incredibly dashing boyfriend and knight in the shining yellow cloak. like his younger hero. Thanks to these moments and homages, we’ve already enjoyed many re-watches of Gun Docs in one way or another, even without an actual Goonie sequel.