Forty years have passed since The Goonies delighted audiences and captured the adventurous imaginations of a generation. In that time, talk of a sequel has never ended, but as of earlier this year, it’s more real than it ever has been. Warner Bros. has, as of a few months back, hired someone to write a Goonies 2. And while many of the original cast members have been very vocal and excited about the idea, the group’s elder statesman, Josh Brolin, seems much less enthusiastic.
Brolin, who went on to star in iconic films like No Country for Old Men, True Grit, W., Avengers: Endgame, Dune, and Deadpool 2, among others, got his big break with a role in the 1985 Steven Spielberg-produced, Richard Donner-directed adventure. He played Brandon Walsh, a.k.a. Brand, the older brother of Mikey, played by Sean Astin. This week, Brand, we mean Brolin, spoke with io9 for his incredible new movie, Weapons, but we had to ask him about Goonies 2. We asked if the movie happened, and if his character is in it, would he have any trepidation about coming back? “I would [have trepidations],” Brolin said.
Why exactly? “Because I love The Goonies, [but] it’s been 41 years. Let it lay,” the actor said. He then paused and continued. “I mean, no, I love the idea, but I don’t know. If they made one with different kids, then it becomes a different thing, and I think it taints the original one. I think people get excited, and people who were in the original movie, they get excited about being able to work with that group again because it was such an amazing experience. So do I think it should be done? I don’t know, man. I love it just standing like it does.”
It certainly sounds like, if a Goonies 2 does get greenlit, it might have to happen without Josh Brolin’s character. Which honestly could still work. He was part of the group but always on his own path, so it could be okay if he lived somewhere else than his brother, Mikey. And, of course, that’s assuming whatever writer Potsy Ponciroli cooks up includes those characters. It could just be new characters and another mystery tied to One-Eyed Willy. Or something else entirely.
But Brolin’s point of view is certainly a valid one. Like he says, it’s been 40 years. Maybe let it lie.
Brolin’s latest film, Weapons, is in theaters August 8, and we’ll have more on it, and from him, soon.
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