The Goonies 2 May Actually Happen: Warner Bros. Has Finally Hired A Writer

It may sound like a boy who cried wolf scenario, but it seems "The Goonies 2" is really, truly, actually happening. No, seriously this time! This is a film that has been talked about for literal decades now, with nothing having materialized up to this point. Back to 2014, the late Richard Donner (who directed the original "Goonies") said "Goonies" co-writer and producer Steven Spielberg had written a story for the sequel. Well, now Warner Bros. is getting serious about the project and has hired a new writer to tackle another adventure with Mikey, Chunk, and the rest of the gang. Presumably.

According to Deadline, Potsy Ponciroli has officially come on board to pen "The Goonies 2." Ponciroli is known best as the writer-director of the 2021 Western "Old Henry" starring Tim Blake Nelson. Some of the filmmaker's other credits include the TV series "Still the King" and last year's crime flick "Greedy People." For the moment, plot details remain under wraps for the sequel, with no director attached. Meanwhile, Spielberg, Kristie Macosko Krieger, and Holly Bario are attached to produce the film, with Chris Columbus (who scripted the original "Goonies") and Lauren Shuler Donner (who was married to Richard Donner prior to his death) set to serve as executive producers.

The original "Goonies" centers on brothers Mikey (Sean Astin) and Brand (Josh Brolin), whose house is slated for demolition thanks to greedy land developers swooping in on their small town. Thus, Mikey and his friends (and, eventually, Brand) decide their only hope to save all of their homes, and their town along with them, lies in finding a long-lost treasure. Hence, after uncovering a treasure map, they venture into areas long forgotten in search of riches.

Warner Bros. is looking to make use of popular classics from its library. We recently learned that "The Goonies 2" and "Gremlins 3" were being resurrected by the studio, though it seems it's truly wasting no time, given how quickly it found a writer for the "Goonies" sequel. But why now after all these years? It probably has something to do with the fact that '80s nostalgia has been a driver of big hits for quite some time. It also probably has a little something to do with the success of "Beetlejuice Beetlejuice."

Director Tim Burton's long-discussed sequel finally hit theaters last year, with "Beetlejuice Beetlejuice making more than $450 million worldwide, becoming one of 2024's biggest hits. It's not hard to imagine that movie's success got the brass at WB thinking about other '80s properties that could get the sequel treatment.

One complication (as well as a benefit) is that many members of the original "Goonies" cast are huge stars now. Ke Huy Quan (who played the Goonie known as Data) is an Oscar-winner thanks to "Everything Everywhere All at Once," Brolin is one of Hollywood's in-demand A-list stars, and Astin has eternal relevance thanks to his performance as Samwise Gamgee in Peter Jackson's "Lord of the Rings" trilogy. Getting the entire cast back might be difficult, as well as expensive, but if it works? There could be treasure in it for Warner Bros.

The original film made $69 million domestically alone against a reasonable $19 million budget. More than that though, it's become an enduring classic that has lived on for more than four decades. If Ponciroli can walk that fine line of making this work for both those who grew up with the original film and for a new audience? This could be huge. Of course, that's much easier said than done.

"The Goonies 2" doesn't have a release date just yet, but stay tuned.