The Goonies re-enactment drama series Our Time is set to land at Disney+. The Goonies is a 1985 adventure film from director Richard Donner and producer Steven Spielberg that focuses on a group of kids who find a treasure map and set out to find the treasure. The original film starred Sean Astin, Josh Brolin, Corey Feldman, Martha Plimpton, Ke Huy Quan, Kerri Green, and Jeff Cohen as the titular "Goonies" with the antagonists played by Joe Pantoliano, Robert Davi, and Anne Ramsey.
Numerous attempts have been made throughout the years to make a sequel to the film, but none have come to fruition. Original director Richard Donner died in July 2021, leaving a piece of The Goonies puzzle missing. A pilot show for a Goonies-inspired series on Fox, written by Sarah Watson, was filmed earlier in the year, which followed three students trying to recreate the film shot-for-shot. Fox passed on the pilot, however, leaving it lost in the shuffle with no home to go to.
Now, it appears the show has found a second life at Disney+. The Goonies-inspired show has now found a home with the streamer (via Variety), as well as a title, called Our Time, which will now move forward under a new roof. Fox apparently felt that the pilot episode "skewed too young" for their audience, but the show is now being redeveloped by Amblin and The Donner Company to play on Disney+. Once Fox passed, the show was shopped elsewhere, getting scooped up by Disney for a new life. Clancy Collins White, executive VP and head of development at WBTV, cites the value of streaming services being able to salvage once orphaned shows, saying:
We did not yet have anything in development at Disney Plus. It’s been another example of being able to carve a pathway where there wasn’t one by virtue of a great story, a great pilot, a great series. The deal has taken a while to make, but we’re really excited to be moving forward.
For many, it seems like it's far too late for a proper sequel to The Goonies, including original star Corey Feldman, who says that the only way it could be done is with original director Richard Donner. Sean Astin, who played the lead character in The Goonies, also echoed Feldman's comments, saying that he doesn't think a sequel will ever happen, but relenting that a reboot of The Goonies would be okay by him. Most of the cast of The Goonies went on to have solid careers, with Josh Brolin being the most prominent, eventually playing Thanos in the MCU. Astin made a name for himself with a string of hits in the 90s, including Encino Man and Rudy, before playing the iconic role of Samwise Gamgee in Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy.
In all likelihood, a sequel to The Goonies has lost its momentum, which leaves the original to stand on its own for generations to come. It's a near-impossible task to recapture or even surpass the impact of the original film, so any effort at this point seems like it's doomed to fail, even if simply by comparison. Having a meta-series about The Goonies, however, feels like a solid approach to recapturing the magic, paying homage, and pushing the spirit of the tale onto a new generation. Whether or not Our Time is able to do that is yet to be seen, but Goonies never say die, so there's hope that the franchise could continue in this new form.
Source: Variety