The Goonies 2 ‘in the works with original writer returning’

A new ‘The Goonies’ movie is reportedly in the works at Warner Bros.

According to Deadline, the studio is looking to shift its strategy to proven franchises, and so have put a sequel to the late Richard Donner’s 1985 adventure film into development.

The follow-up flick will bring back ‘The Goonies’ co-scribe Chris Columbus - who wrote the original film with Steven Spielberg - to pen the story of the upcoming movie.

As well as a second ‘Goonies’ picture, Columbus is also set to be writing the script for a new ‘Gremlins’ movie after he penned the treatment for the original 1984 film.

While no details about a potential release date or cast are known, it is possible ‘The Goonies’ sequel will see the return of actors Josh Brolin, Ke Huy Quan, Sean Austin, Corey Feldman, Jeff Cohen, Martha Plimpton and Kerri Green as the grown-up group of adventurous kids from the first movie.

‘The Goonies’ follows a group of children who uncover a treasure map of a long-lost pirate, setting them on a quest to find riches while doing all they can to avoid a ruthless crime family.

Talks of a sequel have been going on for years, though Spielberg said in 2020 that a follow-up was unlikely because he, Columbus, Donner and his producer wife Lauren Shuler Donner couldn't find the right story for a second film.

During a ‘Goonies’ livestream to celebrate the flick's 35th anniversary, the ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’ filmmaker said: “Chris, Dick and I — and Lauren — have had a lot of conversations about it.

“Every couple of years we come up with an idea but then it doesn’t hold water.”

The ‘Jurassic Park’ director added the team had raised the bar on the children’s adventure genre so high with ‘The Goonies’ that it was difficult to find ideas for a sequel that would live up to the original.

He said: “Until we do, people are just going to have to look at this [livestream] a hundred times!”

In 2023, Ke Huy Quan revealed he was “open” to reprising his ‘Goonies’ role as Richard ‘Data’ Wang in a sequel, though doubted such a project could move ahead since director Richard Donner passed away two years prior.

Speaking after winning the Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture at the Golden Globe Awards for his role in ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’, he said: “First of all, we have the big man here tonight and that would be Steven Spielberg and that's one thing everyone should ask him.

“There was not one spec that I felt could live up to what the original was.

“Sadly, we lost the captain of our ship [Donner], who I love dearly, and I really don't know if there will be 'Goonies 2', but I would be open to reliving that character if there is that opportunity.”

A month before Donner’s death in July 2021, Corey Feldman - who portrayed Clark ‘Mouth’ Devereaux in the original movie - also admitted a sequel was unlikely.

He said: “Well, Sean Astin and Josh Brolin want a sequel but you know. It's one of those powers that be things. Every time I thought, ‘OK, it's really gonna happen’, I've been let down and had my heartbroken.

“I think I probably believed it the most over the pandemic. Because I thought, 'OK it's [‘The Goonies’] 35th anniversary, we did two reunions in one year, we went back and read the script together.

“And Chris Columbus even said on the call with all of us, and in subsequent emails, ‘Guys I'm so inspired, I'm actually writing again. Like I'm gonna do this. We're gonna do this. We're doing this.' And then, nothing.’”