The Goonies 2: The Goldbergs Creator Pitched Sequel to Richard Donner

By Cameron Bonomolo

Adam F. Goldberg pitched The Goonies 2 to Richard Donner before the director died last summer at age 91. In 2020, the creator of nostalgic ABC sitcom The Goldbergs revealed he spent nine years "secretly" writing a Goonies sequel, titled The Goonies II: Never Say Die. Goldberg took to Twitter to share an image of his treatment for a "Richard Donner Presentation" dated March 4, 2020, only for the coronavirus lockdown to cancel the in-person meeting with the director. That October, after trying to "wait out" the COVID-19 pandemic, Goldberg tweeted concept art from his pitch and the news that he had scheduled a Zoom meeting with Donner, who was actively developing Lethal Weapon 5 when he died in July 2021. 

As the saying goes: Goonies never say die. During an appearance at Connecticut's Terrificon 2022, original Goonies actor Joe Pantoliano revealed Goldberg pitched Goonies II to Donner and said he hopes to reunite with the cast for the decades-later sequel. 

"All I know is, a while ago, we had a Goonie reunion. Over the years, occasionally, I'd run into [Goonies executive producer and story writer] Steven Spielberg and he would say, 'We're working on a script for Donner,'" Pantoliano, who played favored Fratelli son Francis opposite Robert Davi's Jake Fratelli and Anne Ramsey's Mama Fratelli, told the convention crowd. "And at one point, Donner actually called me like 10 years ago."

Sometime after Pantoliano joined Donner and the surviving cast and crew for the virtual Goonies reunion in April 2020, Goldberg reached out to the actor about his pitched sequel to the beloved 1985 Donner film. 

"Apparently, he pitched Donner an idea — he would only show us the first three pages. That was the sequel version," Pantoliano said. "I think, with the success of all of these sequel movies — Bad Boys for Life, Top Gun [Maverick] — for some reason, people really like going back and seeing these characters brought back to life. So I would hope we get to do another one with everybody."

"I gotta email Chris Columbus," Pantoliano added of the Goonies screenwriter who would go on to direct family blockbusters Home Alone and the first two Harry Potter movies. 

In 2019, Goonies co-stars Sean Astin and Corey Feldman revealed they once pitched a 10-page sequel idea that Donner deemed "too expensive," preferring instead to "go smaller" with a "quaint" sequel focused on the grown-up Goonies and their families. Astin later said the idea involved turning back time to the 17th century for a prequel about Inferno captain One-Eyed Willy, whose long-lost pirate treasure is discovered by the Goonies gang in the first movie. 

Before Donner's death, Feldman cast doubts on a Goonies sequel ever happening as Lethal Weapon 5 was to be the director's "swan song." 

"We can't make [The Goonies 2] without [Donner]. And [Donner's] off shooting guns with the Lethal Weapon people," Feldman said in a June 2021 interview with Dread Central, adding that the long-in-the-works sequel was "done" after years of false starts. 

"Every time I thought, 'Okay it's really gonna happen,' I've been let down and had my heart broken. I think I probably believed it the most over the pandemic," Feldman explained. "Because I thought 'Okay, it's [The Goonies] 25th anniversary, we did two reunions in one year, we went back and read the script together. And Chris Columbus himself 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 doing this.' And then, nothing."

While not a sequel, a Goonies re-enactment drama series titled Our Time is in development at the Disney+ streaming service from Spielberg's Amblin, original Goonies studio Warner Bros, and The Donners' Company. Created by The Bold Type's Sarah Watson, the television series follows a trio of young filmmakers as they attempt a shot-for-shot remake of their favorite movie: The Goonies. 

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