After Gremlins and The Goonies, what other 80s films need a remake?
Children of the 80s, get ready: your youth is about to come crashing back into cinemas, older, greyer, and probably a little softer around the middle than you remember. Within the space of 48 hours, three franchise revivals have been mooted that might send misty-eyed nostalgics to despair.

First up, Richard Donner appears to be on board for a sequel to his 1985 Spielberg-produced pirate classic The Goonies. Bringing back the key players of the original may prove challenging – Josh Brolin, Sean Astin and Corey Feldman were all involved first time around – and though the prospect of a reunion might raise a nostalgic smile, the question remains: what are they going to do this time around? Are the cast going to be believably geared up for another adventure 30 years on? While The Goonies may have flashy ‘80s trappings, famous child stars and a Cyndi Lauper song, at its heart is an old fashioned story of treasure maps, grouchy baddies and pirate ships – is an audience raised on Michael Bay interested in this sort of goofy fun anymore?
Jeff Cohen, Anne Ramsey, Jonathan Ke Quan, Corey Feldman and Sean Astin in The Goonies Photograph: Allstar/WARNER BROS/Sportsphoto Ltd. Photograph: Allstar/WARNER BROS/Sportsphoto Ltd./Allstar
It’s not just The Goonies who will be making a comeback soon. Gremlins, another Spielberg-produced classic that’s far darker than you might remember, is apparently being fast-tracked for a reboot, begging further questions: can we get away with kids putting gremlins in blenders in 2014? And will the wonderful puppetry make a comeback, or will the mogwai be revived in soulless CGI?
The Karate Kid is also set to crane-kick its way back to the cinema, with a sequel to the 2010 remake starring Jaden Smith and Jackie Chan. That reboot wasn’t quite the travesty that fans of the original feared it would be, effectively filling a gap in the market for simple, well-constructed storytelling for a young audience. Though it won’t have replaced the original in the hearts of 40-somethings, it nevertheless proved the nuts-and-bolts mechanics and plot beats of The Karate Kid are indestructible - though where a sequel chooses to go remains to be seen.
There’s a chance that this could all prove worthwhile. Since Spielberg left his classic suburban adventure stories behind him in the early ‘90s, no-one ever really stood up to take his mantle. The Transformers generation could perhaps do with a bit of The Goonies, Gremlins and Karate Kid spirit, as JJ Abrams’ Super 8 proved.
Some ‘80s revisits might work well – the long-gestating Beetlejuice sequel could provide a return to form for Tim Burton, who has lately found himself stuck in a genre-muddled rut. However, lines must be drawn – should a remake of Stand By Me ever rear its ugly head, all involved should take a long hard look at themselves.
If the Goonies ‘R’ good enough for a cinematic return, who else would you like to see back on the big screen? Should Back To The Future come back in the future? Do we need to find out what Elliott got up to after E.T. phoned home? Let us know which films you think might work in the comments.