Who Asked for a Goonies Reboot?

The beloved film The Goonies, which first came out in 1985, will reportedly have a sequel in 2026-27.

I confess that my initial reaction to this as to the recent spate of rehashes, remakes, and unnecessary sequels (looking at you, Joker: Folie à Deux) that flooded theaters last year, was an eye roll. Why do we need a sequel to a film 40 years after the original one was released? More importantly, who asked for this?

But this is a hasty reaction.

Maybe Hollywood really is as desperate and lacking in originality as these reboots make them seem. Or maybe I’m just not a fan of The Goonies. Maybe there’s a legitimate audience that really does want to hear the story told again.

I myself have fallen for a number of remakes and franchise milkings. One of my favorites is The Batman. Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy concluded in 2012. A decade later, Matt Reeves presented us with a new interpretation of the nocturnal avenger starring Robert Pattinson.

I love the Nolan Batman trilogy, but was intrigued by Pattinson’s moody, noir-like embodiment of the iconic character. I saw Reeves’ The Batman a staggering five times in theaters and can’t count how many times I’ve watched Nolan’s versions.

The Batman 2 got the green light and is reported to release in late 2027, and I couldn’t be happier.

Spider-Man, perhaps the most beloved superhero ever to grace the pages of a comic book, has seen multiple actors don the suit over the last two decades as well. In fact, fans like me were elated when we saw them all (spoiler alert) unite in Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021).

I’ll always prefer Sam Raimi’s epic Spider-Man trilogy to the other films, but I appreciated both Andrew Garfield and Tom Holland’s take on the web slinger, too.

The point is, there’s nothing inherently wrong about a remake. In fact, stories enacted over and over again may just be something we humans like to see.

If you want to criticize Hollywood’s penchant for remaking or adding onto classic movies, the real question to ask is why certain stories continue to captivate audiences down the decades.

Maybe there are films or franchises that are too significant and popular in the cultural imagination not to revisit every decade or so.

If art is almost always dependent or at least derivative on other works, as I believe it is, then remakes seem like a nod to the collaborative and conversational nature of creativity. We would have no Anna Karenina without Madame Bovary. We probably wouldn’t have the same version of The Lord of the Rings if not for the Inklings, the group of literary luminaries that included C.S. Lewis, Owen Barfield, and Dorothy Sayers.

The poet Ezra Pound noted that the poet’s task is to retell the old stories anew, to refresh our metaphors so we can better understand timeless truths and wonders. 

That said, though, there are plenty of sequels given to films that need no such company. Joker, itself a reinterpretation of an iconic villain, wasn’t originally intended to have a sequel. It performed much better than anticipated, however, and director Todd Phillips was offered a lot of money to finagle a second act. The box office report, and public opinion, reflect how that went. Joker: Folie à Deux, was a box office flop, and its controversial ending left many fans confused and angry.

While creative interpretations and additions of classic characters and stories should be a part of the arts and culture milieu, there is such a thing as beating a dead horse. Some movies are fine without a sequel and don’t need a remake. In my opinion, Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy will never need a reboot. In fact, you could argue (and many people do) that The Lord of the Rings should never have been adapted to the screen in the first place. Nevertheless, twenty-plus years since its release, the trilogy continues to dazzle and inspire. People are still hungry for more Tolkien, of course, as Amazon’s Rings of Power show demonstrates, but some worlds have already been duly created and don’t need any tampering. It makes sense that fans are divided over the spin off.

Some characters, though, like Batman and James Bond, almost seem designed to be pliably reimagined in the public imagination. These are the archetypal figures who adopt new forms in each new era. Finding a balance between revisiting and paying homage to past work and pioneering new stories for our own time will be one of the great challenges (and opportunities) for the creatives in our generation.

I won’t be seeing the new Goonies movie. I’m satisfied with the original and not really interested enough to continue the journey. Who knows — if you’re a major fan, maybe you will be running to the theaters in a couple of years to watch it. Preference obviously plays a role! Replicating genuine brilliance in film and storytelling is rare, though, and it’s up to the directors and writers of the age to step up to the tall task.

Peter Biles is a contributor for Young Voices and works as a college writing instructor. He is the author of three books and writes often about arts and culture.