Movies

Adam Goldberg Has Written 'Goonies 2' On Spec, Steven Spielberg Explains Why A Sequel Never Happened

the goonies sequel
By Hoai-Tran Bui

Goonies may never say die, but the multiple attempts to make a sequel to Richard Donner's '80s kid adventure classic have. When The Goonies hit theaters in 1985, it was a massive box office hit, becoming one of the top ten highest-grossing films of the year and became a classic in the years to follow. So why was there never a sequel? There have been attempts over the years, with a new take occasionally making headlines, but 35 years later, there's still nada. In a recent special lockdown reunion with the cast of The Goonies, executive producer Steven Spielberg popped on to explain why a Goonies sequel has not happened.

As part of a charitable initiative for The Center for Disaster Philanthropy amid the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, lifelong Goonies fan Josh Gad organized a special virtual Goonies reunion with the main cast members of the 1985 classic. In a surprise appearance, executive producer and story writer Steven Spielberg popped on to answer a few questions about the beloved film and about its evasive sequel. For the latter, Spielberg explained why a Goonies sequel never gelled:

"[We] have had a lot of conversations about it, and every couple of years we come up with an idea, but then it doesn't hold water. The problem is the bar that [the cast and filmmakers] raised on this genre. I don't think we've really successfully been able to find an idea that is better than the Goonies that we all made in the '80s. And so until we do people are just going to have to look at this 100 times."

Talk of a Goonies sequel last rose to the surface in 2017, with star Sean Astin expressing hope that he long-discussed sequel would finally be made. But nothing has come of it since. However, film and TV producer Adam Goldberg may have a solution for that. The creator of the hit sitcom The Goldbergs recently revealed that he has been working on his own spec script for The Goonies 2, which he cheekily called his "masterpiece." But Goldberg did say that he had even scheduled a meeting with Donner, but it had been cancelled because of the lockdown.

"For the last 9 years I've been secretly writing PART 2 for fun," Goldberg tweeted. "It's my masterpiece. I even had a big meeting scheduled with Richard Donner... canceled 'cause of the lockdown! THE GOONIES 2 WILL happen when life resumes. Promise!!!"

Could this be the Goonies sequel that we've been waiting for? Spielberg didn't reject the idea of a sequel altogether, leaving the door open for a film if it was "better than than Goonies that we all made in '80s." When it comes to The Goonies 2, maybe we should never say die.

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