Whatever Happened to 'The Goonies' Sequel?

The Big Picture

• Despite its enduring popularity and the desire for a sequel, The Goonies 2 has faced numerous obstacles and has never gotten off the ground.
• The original child actors quickly aged out of their roles, making a direct sequel difficult. The involvement of key figures like Richard Donner and Steven Spielberg also complicated the process.
• While there were brief moments of hope for a sequel, such as in 2014 when Richard Donner announced it was officially happening, there has never been a concrete idea for the story and the project remains stuck in limbo. At this point, it's unlikely that The Goonies 2 will ever see the light of day.

In 1985, The Goonies never said die and inspired a new classic that became beloved by a generation of 1980s kids. Decades later, The Goonies has endured as a beloved staple of 1980s pop culture while the bevy of child actors from the original film (namely Josh Brolin and Ke Huy Quan) who have gone on to become iconic modern performers has further bolstered the reputation of this particular motion picture. Given that The Goonies is still so popular and is part of Hollywood’s current favorite era, one might imagine that a sequel to this project would’ve already happened years ago.

Instead, a sequel to The Goonies has never gotten off the ground. It isn’t for a lack of trying either, as there have been constant hints and whispers over the years about a The Goonies sequel possibly finally seeing the light of day. However, as of this writing, The Goonies 2 is no closer to becoming a reality than it was back in the 1980s, an outcome that can be chalked up to countless insurmountable problems.

The Goonies

A group of young misfits called The Goonies discover an ancient map and set out on an adventure to find a legendary pirate's long-lost treasure.

When Did Talks for 'The Goonies 2' Begin?

Technically, audiences first got a project entitled The Goonies 2 back in 1987 through the magical world of video games. That title for the Nintendo Entertainment System (or NES as the gamers call it) was far from a proper Goonies follow-up, though, which remained elusive. The obvious problem with pulling off a follow-up was that the kids from the original film very quickly aged out of their initial roles. The concept of a legacy sequel was still years away from being popularized in the 1990s and, in this early era of franchise filmmaking, the problem of those actors aging out of their characters seemed to immediately stop the notion of a sequel dead in its tracks.

In the 21st century, the fandom over The Goonies just kept increasing, especially as people who’d seen the original film when they were kids began to have families of their own that they could share this 1980s film with. Occasional reports would flare up on the internet every now and again about the idea of Goonies 2, but nothing concrete ever emerged. Then, director Richard Donner dashed all hopes for The Goonies sequel while talking to Variety in 2008. Donner noted that himself, writer Chris Columbus, and producer Steven Spielberg had often tried to conjure up new ideas for a sequel to no success.

The Sort-Of True Story of ‘The Goonies’

The beloved classic was loosely based on an actual shipwreck.

This was another key issue keeping The Goonies 2 from ever existing. The original Goonies was attached to a lot of big behind-the-scenes figures who had very concrete ideas on how the franchise should progress. Plus, these individuals were all busy people who might not always have time in their respective schedules to work on Goonies 2. These and other problems were especially apparent with Spielberg, a man who has rigid control over whether or not films he produces get sequels. For instance, Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, another 1980s box office hit produced by Spielberg, has never received a follow-up because of this filmmaker’s ambivalence towards the idea of a sequel. The presence of Richard Donner and Steven Spielberg in the original Goonies helped to get people into the theater in 1985, but they were now a key reason why Goonies 2 couldn’t become a reality.

'The Goonies 2' Comes to Life…Briefly

In April 2014, though, there was finally some positive news for folks eager to see more adventures in the Goonies universe. Richard Donner revealed in a TMZ interview that not only was a sequel officially a-go, but that he had high hopes for getting everybody from the original film back in the follow-up. Shortly afterward, Donner would further confirm that Spielberg himself was responsible for the plot of this sequel. If this producer had come up with an idea that he felt would be worthy of a sequel decades later, then it was no wonder The Goonies 2 was finally a go. After decades of waiting, die-hard fans of the original feature had reason to be hopeful again.

Unfortunately for fans of all things Goonies, writer Chris Columbus made it clear in 2015 that there still wasn't a concrete idea for a new sequel. While he noted that a sequel to fellow 1980s Warner Bros. movie Gremlins was well on its way to completion (at that point in time), he remarked that The Goonies 2 was, by comparison, stuck in limbo as everyone tried to crack a story. He also noted that everybody involved in the original Goonies tries to come up with some concrete idea for a sequel every few years only for things to fall apart, which didn’t bode well for the idea of The Goonies 2 finally becoming a reality.

One issue for the sequel was that the legacy sequel, a mold that would’ve fit a potential Goonies sequel like a glove, wasn’t really popularized until the end of 2015 with Creed and Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Those kinds of follow-ups could’ve provided a treasure map of what a Goonies 2 could look like. More devastatingly, though, was the fact that 2016 would bring the release of Stranger Things, a homage to Amblin movies and Stephen King novels of the 1980s. There was still a mainstream hunger for projects in the vein of The Goonies, but now the original film had been surpassed by imitators. Was there really a need for Goonies 2 with Stranger Things and Itdominating the pop culture landscape?

In 2021, The Goonies 2 basically became dead as a doornail when Donner opted to helm the Lethal Weapon sequel Lethal Finale instead of another Goonies movie. This iconic filmmaker was now well over 90 years old and keenly aware he didn't have much time left. With his finite amount of years remaining, Donner opted to spend them cracking one last Lethal Weapon movie rather than come up with the very first Goonies sequel. Since the cast was apparently only interested in Goonies 2 if Donner was directing, his passing in July 2021 seemed to close the book on Goonies 2.

We Don’t Need 'The Goonies 2'

They say the definition of insanity is repeating the same process over and over again and expecting a different result. In that case, perhaps all the creative people involved in the original Goonies went mad years ago. These powerful individuals in Hollywood constantly put their valuable time on the line to figure out whether or not a Goonies sequel was feasible when everything in the universe kept trying to pinpoint them to one immovable reality: it wasn’t. Goonies 2 just wasn’t something that people needed, and it’s hard to tell if they’d even want that kind of project, especially after so many legacy sequels to vintage 1980s features.

The inability to ever get a proper storyline going for Goonies 2 should’ve been a sign to all involved that this proposed production was a boondoggle. Yet onward they kept chugging. Goonies 2 was constantly kept alive through endless internet rumors, speculation, and comments from folks like Richard Donner. At this juncture, it’s highly unlikely this sequel will ever see the light of day, especially given how tumultuous everything is at Goonies studio Warner Bros. as of this writing. The studio can’t seem to get any new projects into production — it’s doubtful the current David Zaslav-led WB regime will be able to finally crack Goonies 2. That’s okay, though. We don’t always need to go back and rehash fond nostalgic memories of the 1980s. The folks behind the original Goonies wasted a lot of time trying to make a sequel that would never be. Folks on the internet should not similarly throw their life down the drain fervently hoping Goonies 2 finally becomes a reality.

The Goonies is available to stream on AMC+ in the U.S.

Watch on AMC+

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