Martha Plimpton Delivers Heartbreaking News About the Future of a ‘The Goonies’ Sequel

Few movie sequels have been teased, denied, confirmed and doubted as many times as a follow-up to ‘The Goonies‘. Since the 1985 adventure became a cult favorite, fans have waited for the treasure hunters to return to the Goondocks. Every few years, a fresh rumor revives that hope.

The latest chapter comes from one of the original kids. After years of mixed signals, the long-rumored ‘The Goonies’ sequel has now been called into question by someone who would actually be in it. It’s a reminder that Hollywood’s most beloved nostalgia projects can stall for a long time.

Martha Plimpton, who played Stef Steinbrenner, told Page Six in an exclusive chat that a second film simply isn’t going to happen. The 55-year-old said she keeps hearing small bits of news that quickly fade, and that when fans ask her about it, the answer is always the same: there’s nothing. She was speaking with the outlet to promote Season 2 of FX’s ‘The Lowdown’.

Plimpton was 14 when the original movie came out, and she has spent decades fielding questions about its return. Her latest comments land as a notably gloomy update, especially because they come years after the project was supposedly moving forward.

Her stance has shifted over time. In September 2024, Plimpton publicly shut down a report claiming a sequel was in the works with the original cast, saying there was no script, no one attached and that Steven Spielberg wasn’t directing. Corey Feldman also said he had no information about a sequel.

Then, in February 2025, Variety reported that a sequel was in development with Spielberg producing. Warner Bros. confirmed the project, with Chris Columbus, who wrote the original, also producing and Potsy Ponciroli writing the script. Lauren Shuler Donner, the widow of original director Richard Donner, is an executive producer.

After that confirmation, the tone from the cast softened. At a fan convention and again at a red carpet event in 2025, Plimpton said she hoped the project would be a success and that audiences would see a ‘Goonies’ sequel whether she appeared in it or not. Those comments make her newest remarks feel like a clear step back.

The idea of a sequel has struggled for years, and Spielberg has explained why. During a virtual cast reunion hosted by Josh Gad in 2020, he said he, Columbus and the Donners had held many conversations about a follow-up. He said an idea comes up every couple of years but doesn’t hold up, partly because the original raised the bar for the genre so high.

Richard Donner’s death in 2021 added another obstacle. The director had spoken about wanting to reunite the cast, and many fans see the sequel as incomplete without him. A report from August noted that Ponciroli had been the last public sign of progress, and Page Six notes there have been no further updates since his first draft was described as well received.

Other cast members have sounded optimistic, if cautious. Ke Huy Quan has said he would love for a sequel to happen, and Feldman said at the time of the confirmation that everyone still looks great and is still around, adding that there’s hope.

Josh Brolin offered a more mixed take. He told Entertainment Tonight in August 2025 that he hopes the film gets made because the original experience was so great, but he admitted to some trepidation about tainting his memories. He also joked that the cast would be using walkers by the time a sequel arrives.

For now, there’s no director, no release date and no cast confirmation, only a script draft and an enduring fan base. Warner Bros. hasn’t commented on Plimpton’s latest remarks, and the project technically remains in development. That leaves a strange middle ground in which the sequel is neither dead nor moving.

Whether Plimpton is simply being realistic or whether the project will surprise everyone remains to be seen. The history of ‘The Goonies’ suggests that fans will keep hoping regardless, and the franchise’s motto still gets a lot of use.

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