There may still be hope for a sequel to the 1985 cult classic The Goonies — but don’t pencil it into your calendar just yet.
Director Richard Donner revealed the possibility of a return to the beloved coming-of-age flick from the mind of Steven Spielberg during an interview looking back on the film’s production. Along with the sequel tease, Donner also detailed his upcoming “immersive theater” off-Broadway adaptation of the storied comedy.
“…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,” said the director about his new project. “It’s very popular now … It will take another year or so but it’s going to be wonderful.”
Speaking about the possibility of coming back to the story for a second movie, Donner left the door open.
“Again, everything takes a long time to get it right,” he explained. “If you do things fast and quick and easy, that’s a disservice. But if there were going to be another movie it would take us a long time to get it right, because we have a lot of history that we’re involved with and a lot of integrity that we have to keep to what once was, and lives a life of its own without destroying it.”
“Maybe the powers that be are working on something,” Donner said.
It’s certainly not the first time the director hinted at a sequel. Last April, he told TMZ that he was making a follow-up film and he “wants to bring back the entire cast.” His recent comments aren’t as definitive but they’re more positive than Goonies’ screenwriter Chris Columbus’ thoughts on the subject in April. Columbus told MTV that while rumors of a sequel have been around for years, he’s unsure if it will ever happen. When prodded further, he explained the difficulty was in “cracking the right story without offending the sensibility of the original story.”
That’s always the trick, but never say never. Spielberg’s most recent return to an beloved older property as producer, a little film called Jurassic World, broke more records than a cyclone at a Sam Goody in the mid ’80s. We’ll have to wait and see if the stars align to bring back that old magic once again.
