What happens after The Goonies? (open spoilers)

Cafe Society
1

I’m a little obsessed with my favorite movie right now. I was sketching out how I would write a sequel with fictional offspring of the gang going on their own treasure hunt. Before one starts writing out a new adventure, the details of the aftermath of the original story.

The Goonies ends with the criminals arrested, the rich jerk developer being thwarted, an uncrewed pirate ship sailing off to the sunset, and an implied happily-ever-after for the kids. With the innocent nature of the film to guide us, what happens to the characters? What happens to the ship itself?

Without a plea bargain, the kids would probably have to testify at a trial over the murder of the “Fed” in the freezer. Would there be a media circus around it, given the public nature of it all?

Did One Eyed Willy rig the ship to sail off and that’s that? Or did he rig it further to sink after a while? There’s a sizeable Coast Guard presence in Astoria, did they take the Inferno back to port?

Were the jewels really enough to pay off multiple mortgages? Perhaps just enough houses to thwart the development? Would complicated salvage laws even come into play in a movie?

What do each of the Goonies become as adults? It’s a little tough, as nobody in the film talks about their plans for the future. They all become famous for the events of the film, but that’s mostly gone now. My working theories:
Mikey - works at the same museum his dad did, caring for the permanent Willy exhibit, including the Inferno at the dock. His kids think he’s a joke.
Mouth - cliche or no, he became a Portland area car salesman, and does plumbing on the side. Twice divorced with a kid from each marriage.
Data - is a toy designer in Maryland, but also secretly designs spy gagets for the CIA. Great family but he hates that he can’t tell anyone he got his dream job.
Chunk - like the actor who portrayed him, Chunk is now a lawyer (personal injury and pro-bono work for special needs adults).
Brand - struggling to find his place after a mostly successful college sports career, now back in town managing the bowling alley.
Andy - spent many years in L.A. trying to be an actress, now back in Astoria as a single mom.
Stef - practically raising her own granddaughter because her idiot son hasn’t moved out of the house… wrong show… Stef became a wonderful but ordinary wife and mother in a lovely Portland suburb. Three perfect kids don’t quell her secret longing for another adventure.

Sloth passed away peacefully in his sleep soon after Chunk left for college.
The Fratelli boys are serving long sentences in state prison. They initially hated the Goonies, but Ma was diagnosed with cancer while in prison and got good medical care until she died. Jake and Francis now see it all as a blessing in disguise, and are friends with Chunk.

What do you think?

2

I assumed that someone went after the ship and brought it back to harbor. I’m not sure how you want to address what happens to the treasure on board, but I like to think that the ship itself becomes the centerpiece of the museum and a major tourist attraction.

3

The secret pirate cave would also likely be declared a national historical landmark, which would hurt the developer’s plans, too.

4

The Lighthouse Lounge was torn down and once again became the parking lot at Ecola State Park.

Astoria was moved back to it’s original position, much too far away for kids to ride bicycles to Cannon Beach.

The old jail became the Oregon Film Museum.

Those poor people who owned the Goonies House were never able to remodel it because of the continual tourism.

5

Your post seems to be about what happened to the real-world locations from the film. But I think the thread was intended to speculate on what happened to the characters from the film.

6

I like the idea that Mikey is over it, but now Mouth is obsessed with treasure hunting, especially the sunken treasure of One Eyed Willie, hiring boats and using Data’s gadgetry to find the shipwreck. It’s been his lifelong obsession, ruining his life, but finally he thinks he’s found it, wrecked off the coast of Alaska, and they’re off on another adventure.

7

That assumes that everyone just lets that pirate ship just float off into the ocean. I don’t see that happening. The sheriff saw the ship. so I assumed he radioed the Coast Guard and they retrieved it. Remember that even if it wasn’t laden with pirate treasure, it would still be an amazing historical artifact.

8

Also, Arnold Schwarzenegger becomes a kindergarten teacher at the local elementary school.

9

Incidentally, I don’t know if this influenced the plot of The Goonies but, a little further down the Oregon coast, there actually is a legend having to do with a trove of gold being hidden on Neahkahnie Mountain by the Spanish in the late 1600s.

10

Facetious, I realize, but two points:
First, in the outline for my sequel, I have fictional Astoria as similar to today’s real Astoria So many of the existing tourist spots would also be tourist spots in the story. Build a new ship in the harbor for filming, then leave it for the Film Museum and the Maritime Museum to fight over.

Second, while the house is a tourist attraction, visitors can’t go inside. The owners can remodel inside to their hearts’ content. Incidentally, the house wasn’t in great shape back then, and the produces did a full renovation to film there. Cannon Beach is close enough for a long bike ride from the real Astoria, but the movie world is simply different geography, a deleted scene shows a map indicating Astoria basically where Warrenton is.

11

Cool story, even has a treasure hunter predecessor.

12

Title: Goonies Never Say Die.

13

Perfect! It matches the thoughts of us who will never stop wishing for a sequel.
I’m thinking of making a shirt saying something like this. (I have some printable iron-on sheets, but I have to print my cartoon narwhal first.)

14

Get the principals to start a Kickstarter project–hey, it worked for Veronica Mars!

15

snerk

No, really…I think Maw Maw would have added a whole other dimension to The Goonies…

16

Cloris Leachman could totally play Jake and Francis’s aunt, ornery in a different way from her sister.