The unyielding spirit of "The Goonies" persists, steadfastly refusing to succumb to defeat, even amidst whispers of a possible sequel brewing on the horizon.On Monday, February 3rd, the stars of the iconic film, Corey Feldman, Jeff Cohen, and Kerri Green, alongside Ke Huy Quan and Sean Astin, reunited at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles for the premiere of their new movie, "Love Hurts." During this special occasion, both Feldman and Quan expressed their profound interest in a continuation of the beloved 1985 adventure comedy. "This is one of the questions I get asked the most in my life," Quan, 53, revealed to Variety, "and I really hope it happens." Meanwhile, Feldman shared with the publication that he and Astin had embarked on developing a "Goonies" sequel roughly a decade ago, but the original director, Richard Donner, deemed it "too expensive." "Sean and I really put a lot of effort into it; it was a great idea," said Feldman, also 53. "It's a 'Goonies' sequel, so it's going to cost money, right?" Continued the "Lost Boys" star. According to Feldman, Donner, who passed away in 2021, had a different vision. "He said, 'I want to make it smaller. I want it to be character-driven—more about these people and who they are now,'" Feldman recalled Donner's response. "And I was like, 'Okay, let's do that. You're Dick, you're the boss.'"
Talk of a "Goonies" sequel has circulated for decades. As early as 2005, Cohen allegedly revealed at a fan event that while most of the cast, along with Donner and the film's original executive producer Steven Spielberg, were supportive, Warner Bros., which owned the copyright, was reluctant to fund a sequel. Meanwhile, Astin has remained optimistic over the years that a sequel would eventually see the light of day. In 2014, Donner told TMZ that Spielberg, who had conceived the idea for the 1985 film, had come up with an idea for the sequel's storyline. "Hope we can make it happen, that's all," Donner said at the time. However, during a 2020 Zoom reunion of "Goonies" actors and filmmakers, Spielberg admitted that although he, Donner, original screenwriter Chris Columbus, and producer Lauren Shuler Donner had "talked about it a lot," they never settled on an idea. "Every few years, we come up with an idea, and it never pans out," explained the Oscar-winning director.
Following his Golden Globe win in 2023 for his performance in "Everything Everywhere All at Once," Quan expressed his openness to a "Goonies" sequel, despite Donner's passing in 2021. "Unfortunately, we lost our captain [Director Richard Donner], and I loved him very much. I really don't know if there will be a 'Goonies 2,'" Quan told reporters. "But if there's an opportunity, I would love to reprise my role." Last year, after The Sun reported that a sequel was in development, Martha Plimpton, who played Stephanie "Stef" Steinbrenner in the original film, and Feldman denied on social media that "Goonies 2" was in production. Yet, at Monday's "Love Hurts" premiere, Feldman struck a more optimistic tone. "All I can say is, look at us all together," he told Variety. "Everyone looks good. Sean looks good. Josh [Brolin] looks good. We all still look good and we're still alive. Goonies never say die... there's still hope."
Feldman knows this all too well. Prior to the "Love Hurts" premiere, Brosnan and Columbus joined the "Gremlins" star, along with Cohen and Green, for Quan's hand and footprint ceremony at the TCL Chinese Theatre. "I'm so happy for you," Brosnan said in his speech to Quan, "and I know all of us, all the Goonies here, are happy for you—this honor is not only well-deserved but a celebration of all the wonderful things in this industry. Love you, buddy."
