The popular eighties film The Goonies will hit our screens again soon, but not quite as you might imagine.
There has been a clamor for a Goonies sequel since the original was released in 1985, but time has passed, and we’ve had nothing.
Recently, the Netflix show Stranger Things has awoken the passion for all things Goonies, with many similarities between the two.
Indeed, Radio Times revealed a clever Goonies reference hidden in series two of Stranger Things, and it wasn’t the first obvious likeness.
That doubtless delighted Goonies fans who have been waiting for something to release that gives them a little slice of the hunt for One-eyed Willie’s treasure.
It’s been 37 years since the gang from Astoria in Oregon first went off in search of pirate gold, and they’ve had to make do with video games for their Goonies fix.
The Goonies were the central characters in a handful of platform games in the early nineties, but there hasn’t been anything major recently on consoles.
There have been some online slot games; the Foxy Bingo Jackpot Slots features The Goonies Return, which has sound and imagery familiar to those who love the movies.
There is also a Goonies Lego Dimensions pack from 2017, not a standalone title but a nice addition to the game, bringing a special Sloth mini-figure to fans.
That was all great for bridging the huge 37-year divide, but finally, we’re going to get to see something directly related to the Goonies on our screens.
However, it isn’t The Goonies Returns or a sequel of any kind but a series based on a remake of the film. That’s right; a shot-by-shot remake of the film. It’ll be a ‘making of’ style show, titled Our Time.
Three years ago, a group of students started their quest, not for pirate treasure but to create a shot-for-shot remake of the Richard Donner classic.
Donner, who we explained directed the horror film The Omen before he worked on the Goonies, has left such a lasting legacy that the story of those students is seen as a series worth showing in its own right.
Gail Berman will produce the series, and she was inspired by another group of students who tried to do the same thing with Raiders of the Lost Ark.
“I thought it was an amazing idea, and it always stood in my head,” she said. “The (Goonies) series is a story of a town and a family in the lens of “Friday Night Lights,” and within that they tell a story of a shot-by-shot remake of “The Goonies.”
We had to go to Warner Bros., to Toby Emmerich, and ask if we could have rights. They said yes, obviously, because of Mr. Spielberg and the Donners. We’re now doing this for Disney Plus.”
That means a return to screens for Chunk, Mikey, and the Gang, even if it isn’t the direct sequel everyone wants to see.
For that, fans will have to settle for Stranger Things, where the first series sees a group of BMX-riding protagonists fighting off evil in eighties small-town America.
If that isn’t enough, then the new Goonies material is confirmed as being on the way, which is still a great way to look forward to celebrating the film turning 40.
Over the years, sequels, miniseries, comic books and even musical adaptions have been rumored and never confirmed, but finally, the Goon Dock boys and their quest for One-Eyed Willie’s treasure is coming back to our screens in some form.
