Legendary character actor Joe Pantoliano shares his hopes for a sequel to the 1985 hit, The Goonies.
During a panel discussion at Connecticut's Terrificon, the actor best known for his role as Francis Fratelli in the '80s cult classic, produced by Steven Spielberg and directed by the late Richard Donner, was asked if a sequel was still possible after all these years. Pantoliano responded that despite all the years, he's maintained an interest in the franchise and would love for the story to continue.
"All I know is, a while ago, we had a Goonie reunion," Pantoliano said. "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. And at one point, Donner actually called me like 10 years ago."
In 2014, Donner confirmed a Goonies sequel was in the works but the iconic filmmaker behind Superman and the Lethal Weapon film franchise shared no further details about when the sequel would enter production. Pantoliano recalled one of his last conversations with Donner while maintaining hope that the success of sequels to '80s and '90s properties would reignite interest in further Goonie adventures.
"Apparently, he [Spielberg] pitched Donner an idea — he would only show us the first three pages," Pantoliano said. "That was the sequel version. 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."
The Goonies followed seven Oregon kids who discover a hidden treasure map that takes them on an adventure to find the lost treasure of 17th-century pirate, One-Eyed Willy. Standing in the way of their quest are a trio of criminals led by Ma Fratelli (Anne Ramsey) and her sons Francis and Jake (Robert Davi). The film grossed a modest $125 million worldwide in the summer of 1985 and proved more popular on home video in the years since its release.
While Pantoliano expressed optimism for a Goonies sequel happening, his co-stars Sean Astin and Corey Feldman had dimmed their hopes of seeing it ever reach the screen. Additionally, the passing of director Donner in 2021 made the possibility of a sequel even more unlikely. Despite this, a television reenactment series inspired by the movie called Our Time is currently in development for Disney+ and it will be produced by The Donners' Company and Amblin Entertainment.
Source: YouTube