Fox has ordered the pilot of a The Goonies inspired drama about a teacher who, along with three students, attempts to remake the film shot-for-shot. The cult classic originally came out in 1985, directed by Richard Donner (Lethal Weapon). The film was written by Chris Columbus, who also wrote Gremlins, and was produced by Steven Spielberg's company, Amblin Entertainment. Columbus is also known for directing the first two Harry Potter films, as well as classic family-friendly favorites like Mrs. Doubtfire.
Starring the likes of Sean Astin (Lord of the Rings), Josh Brolin (Avengers: Endgame), and Corey Feldman (Stand By Me), the film is now a landmark of American culture, and continues to influence media today, such as Netflix's hit series Stranger Things. The iconic roles have stuck with the actors, and most, like Brolin, have embraced their connection with the film. Many people have called for a sequel to The Goonies, and there has been talk about it in recent years from Columbus and Spielberg.
According to THR, the pilot of the untitled drama will be penned by The Bold Type creator Sarah Watson, while Greg Mottola, director of Superbad and episodes of The Newsroom, will direct the pilot and executive produce. Other executive producers include Amblin's Justin Falvey and Darryl Frank, Lauren Shuler Donner, Richard Donner, and SideCar's Gail Berman. The official logline is as follows:
After failing to make it in New York and carrying a heavy secret with her, Stella Cooper returns to her distressed automotive hometown to substitute teach. She finds inspiration, hope and ultimately salvation when she agrees to help three students who are pursuing their filmmaking dreams by putting on an impossibly ambitious shot-for-shot remake of one of their favorite movies - The Goonies. Over the course of the season of the potential series, their passion will inspire a town in desperate need of hope in this love letter to the power of cinema, storytelling and dreams.
This will be Fox's eighth pilot order of the season, and the fourth drama. The other shows include The Cleaning Lady, based on the hit Argentinian crime series, and animated comedy Housebroken. As for a real The Goonies sequel, the future seems unclear. Back in 2015, Astin seemed quite confident it would happen at some point, but his tune has since changed. Most recently, he said he doesn't think it will ever get made but he supports a reboot. On a potential Goonies 2, Feldman shares Astin's skeptical perspective.
This new Fox series isn't really a surprise, as there is currently a trend of rebooting Amblin-era hits, like Jurassic Park's newest installment, Jurassic World and its sequels, and The CW developing The Lost Boys TV series. The CW ordered a pilot of the adaptation last season, but scrapped it and is currently starting over with a reworked script and entirely new cast. But unlike those projects, Fox's pilot feels like a unique approach to adapting the classic story. It's definitely risky, but sometimes those risks pay off. The meta perspective will focus more on the themes of the film, like friendship, joy and curiosity, and accepting people as they are. With Watson bringing her modern wit to the script and Donner producing, there's potential for this The Goonies drama to be a winner for Fox.
Source: THR