For around a decade now there has been talk of a Goonies sequel. Obviously, anyone who was a child of the 1980s is clamoring for the project to somehow get off the ground. In fact, the biggest advocates of the proposed follow-up have come in the shape of the film’s cast. And now Sean Astin, who adorably portrayed Mikey Walsh in the beloved fantasy flick, has admitted that while plans are still afoot to develop a follow-up, he isn’t sure they’ll be able to re-create the magic of the original.
Sean Astin was quizzed by none-other than Larry King about the future of Goonies 2, and the 24 and Lord Of The Rings actor emphatically insisted that there is still plans for it to be created. Astin explained that they’re trying to figure out a few kinks before they really proceed. And even then, he’s only cautiously optimistic that it will be worthwhile.
Something special happened with that movie. I mean really special. You can’t imagine how much people love this movie from the 80s that almost doesn’t hold up in terms of the visual quality. But Steven Spielberg had this magic, this poetry in him. And Dick Donner had this sense of adventure in him. And the two of them got together, and made a movie where they let things happen … There’s a whimsy in the way that they made this movie that’s full of love. It’s really hard to engineer that. Now they’ve got all this time to think about it. It’s hard.
Astin is completely right. While we currently live in an age of reboots, sequels, and adaptations, all of which audiences completely devour, there is a timeless, enchanted and evergreen quality to The Goonies that means trying to polish and update it for a modern audience would simply be a waste of time -- even if it was simply a sequel that re-acquainted us with Mikey, Mouth, Data, Brand, Chunk, Andy, Stef and Sloth 30 years down the line.
And Sean Astin has a rather solid theory for why it just wouldn’t work: The Goonies is perfect because of all its errors. During his chat with King, Astin admitted that there is a plethora of things wrong with The Goonies. This includes him calling an actor by their actual name rather than their character’s name, while towards the end of the movie, a reference is made to an octopus scene that was in fact completely edited out. But all of this combines poetically to create a truly unique, surreal and engaging experience for audiences that obviously still resonates 30 years later.
You can check out Astin passionately talking about The Goonies with the 81-year-young Larry King below. It’s downright adorable.
The last we heard about Goonies 2 came from Richard Donner back in April 2014 when he insisted the sequel was still in the works. Since then it’s all been relatively quiet. And, by the sound of things, Astin thinks that it would be best if things stayed that way.
