A classic of many of our childhoods, The Goonies turned 30 this year. Even though nothing has ever materialized in the last three decades, people still keep talking about The Goonies 2. Well, depending on your stance, this is either good news or bad news (I think it’s good news), there is no sequel happening. There is, however, something in the works, but it is not what you expect at all.
Talking to Yahoo, director Richard Donner (Superman, Lethal Weapon, and too many awesome movies to name) revealed that there is something Goonies related in progress. When asked about the possibility of a sequel, he said:
We’re going to do an off-Broadway, do you know what immersion theater is? Where there’s no seats, the venue is you go into a warehouse and there’s something happening in that warehouse and that’s the play you’ve come to see, only you become part of it and you travel through with actors. It’s very popular now. We’re doing one on The Goonies. It will take another year or so but it’s going to be wonderful.
Cards on the table, I would much rather see Donner and whoever else is involved do this kind of weird, experimental theater thing with The Goonies than go out and make a proper Goonies 2. Any time there’s a long after the fact sequel or a new reboot in the works, which is constantly (Ghostbusters, Power Rangers, countless others), there’s a fair amount of outrage amongst fans of the original. I’m generally pretty numb to this stuff anymore, but an attempt to redo Goonies might be one that might sting.
The movie still holds up today, and it still gathers fresh fans as new generations experience it for the first time. It’s one of those rare movies aimed at kids that doesn’t talk down to them. The young heroes get to go on a great adventure, be in legitimate danger, and they have to rely on their own strength, courage, and ingenuity instead of the adults swooping in at the last minute to save the day, like happens so often. If there is ever more to the Goonies saga, it’s easy to imagine the story picking up with the kids of the original crew, most of whom are in their 40s now, or something along those lines. Unless they came up with a great story, it just doesn’t seem like it would ever feel right.
Who knows if more cinematic Goonies adventures are in store for the world, but for now, or at least in "another year or so," we’ll get to see whatever kind of madness Richard Donner and his cohorts have cooked up for this "immersive theater" performance. It should be something to behold.
