The Goonies star Sean Astin says his ideal sequel involves returning to the 17th century for a high-seas adventure with Inferno captain One-Eyed Willy, whose long-missing pirate treasure was discovered by the Goonies gang in the 1985 original movie. Astin and co-star Corey Feldman previously revealed they approached director Richard Donner with a 10-page treatment that was rejected for being “too expensive”: as Astin and Feldman recounted during FAN EXPO Boston in September, Donner told the pair he wanted to “go smaller” with a “quaint” sequel centering on the grown-up Goonies and their families.
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“The Goonies sequel I want to see, I want to go back in time and I want to meet One-Eyed Willy in the middle of battle. That’s what I want to do,” Astin said at MCM Birmingham Comic Con after confirming he would return for a sequel. “But I’m just the actor, I don’t get to choose. I never put it out there, but now we’re getting old, might as well.”
Asked about a sequel during an appearance at FAN EXPO Canada with Feldman and co-star Ke Huy Quan in August, Astin said a second movie would happen “someday.”
“The audience wants it, they’re gonna do it, it’s annoying it’s taking so long, I’m sorry on behalf of [producer] Steven Spielberg,” Astin said in rapid succession after Quan admitted an inquiry into a sequel or reboot is “the most asked question [he’s] heard for the last 30 years.”
During their joint FAN EXPO Boston appearance, Feldman said it was Donner who sparked premature and persistent sequel rumors.
“Every year, the rumor circulates, ‘Goonies 2 is definitely gonna happen now,’ and we’ll be like, ‘No, it’s not,’” Feldman said. “But Richard Donner at one point started fueling it himself and went to the press. He used to call us and tell us we were going back to work, and we’d get all excited, and then it wouldn’t happen [laughs].”
Feldman recalled Donner “looked like he was loving” the sequel pitch until he dismissed it as too costly. According to Feldman, Donner said, “‘We want to follow more of the family, where are they today, and keeping it more quaint.’”
“I’m like, ‘This is Goonies 2! How do you [go smaller]?’” Feldman added. “‘But okay, you’re the man.’”
For Astin, the star is always open to more Goonies and other sequels. Asked at MCM London if he’d participate in a followup to 1992’s Encino Man, Astin said, “I’m a professional actor, I show up. They want to do a sequel, great! Let’s go.”
Elaborating, Astin explained, “My philosophy on sequels is the more the better. Remakes I’m a little bit more particular about. Because you know what, if it’s bad, don’t watch it. People want to have an emotional experience, and they want to extend it.”
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