A secret Goonies sequel script has been in the works for nearly a decade, and here's the concept art

During a recent reunion of The Goonies cast and crew, executive producer Steven Spielberg said that a sequel to the 1985 classic was unlikely because he hadn't yet seen an idea that could rival the magic of the original. He and director Richard Donner (along with Donner's producer wife, Lauren Shuler Donner) have revisited the possibility of a follow-up project every few years, but nothing's come to fruition so far.

In all that time, however, Adam F. Goldberg (creator of ABC's The Goldbergs) has been secretly chugging away at a screenplay for The Goonies II: Never Say Die. He's been at it for almost a decade — right under our noses.

"I rival @joshgad [who held the aforementioned reunion] as ultimate fan of #TheGoonies," he wrote on Twitter. "For the last 9 years I've been secretly writing PART 2 for fun. It's my masterpiece. I even had a big meeting scheduled with Richard Donner…canceled 'cause of the lockdown! THE GOONIES 2 WILL happen when life resumes. Promise!!!"

Judging by the bit of text peeking out at the bottom of the second page, Part II returns the story to Oregon.

Per /FILM, Goldberg originally pitched a Goonies sequel idea to Donner back in 2005, but it was rejected. The meeting netted him the chance to work on a musical based on the film before Donner decided to hire a Simpsons writer instead. Life went on and Goldberg created his hit television show, whose first season paid homage to the adventure movie in 2014's "Goldbergs Never Say Die!" This episode rekindled Goldberg's desire to make a new Goonies feature and he got to work on the script, which yielded some concept art from Garbage Pail Kids illustrator Michael Barnard (see below).

It looks as if treasure maps and ominous subterranean caves are back on the menu. The Spanish text on the skull's forehead reads: "One mistake shall rain down fear / Feel the wrath of the Devil's Tears."

Never Say Die's story reportedly centers on the first movie's adolescent protagonists as adults. Seeing how their lives and relationships have changed over the last three decades would be fascinating to see, while adding a Stephen King's It dynamic to the proceedings. The same actors (i.e. Sean Astin, Josh Brolin, Ke Huy Quan, Corey Feldman, Jeff B. Cohen, etc.) would probably be asked to reprise their roles, but it's still too early to say anything for sure.

Interest in a sequel is certainly high, but the game has definitely changed over the last 35 years. With so much of modern pop culture influenced by The Goonies (think Netflix's Stranger Things), the youthful adventure films of the '80s are not as fresh as they once were. Goldberg really needs to bring his A game if he wants to attract not just old school fans, but new ones as well.

"[The year] 2020 may suck, but it will also be the year I get Goonies 2 up and running!" he told /FILM. "I'll be lurking on the message boards, so instead of telling me I suck and I'm ruining your childhood, tell me what you want to see in a sequel! And what the hell do I do with Sloth?"