The Lost Boys: 10 Things You May Not Know

Before Joel Schumacher came on board to direct The Lost Boys, producer Richard Donner originally planned to helm the movie himself. With this in mind, the screenplay was inspired by The Goonies and written with all of the characters as much younger versions of themselves. In this version of the story, the vampires were 13 and 14-year-olds, the Frog Brothers were “8-year-old Cub scouts,” and the Star character was a young boy.

For better or for worse, Donner’s schedule filled up and he had to withdraw from the project as the director. This opened the door for Schumacher to come in and have the script retooled to make all of the characters much older.

Beginning in the ’80s, the teenage heartthrob duo Corey Feldman and Corey Haim were known worldwide as “The Two Coreys.” Throughout a variety of movie and TV projects, Feldman and Haim were always together. The partnership extended well into adulthood and up to Haim’s death, as the two even had their own reality series called The Two Coreys.

Where did it all begin? That’s right – The Lost Boys. The classic vampire movie was the first project to co-star Feldman and Haim together, forever changing the lives of both actors for many years to come.

While The Lost Boys has its dark moments, there are plenty of comedic aspects as well. There’s perhaps no greater example of the latter than the very end of the movie, with closes out with a joke from Grandpa. “One thing about living in Santa Carla I never could stomach: all the damn vampires,” the old man comically says before the credits start to roll.

However, there was originally intended to be an alternate ending which would have followed Grandpa’s one-liner. In the scene, a new group of teenagers would be shown crawling into the vampires’ cave, while a nearby mural would reveal Max on the boardwalk. The shot of Max in the mural was then later considered to be shot as a post-credits scene, but the art department didn’t get around to making the mural and the moment was never filmed.

In a movie filled with teen heartthrobs and young vampires, it’s crazy how the saxophone player is one of the most memorable characters. Portrayed by Tim Cappello, his screen time might be limited, but everyone remembers his unique appearance and the way he dances to the toot of his own sax. The Lost Boys is probably Cappello’s most well-known acting gig, but the man should look (and sound) familiar for Tina Turner fans as well.

In the mid ’80s, Cappello joined Turner’s band as a keyboardist and saxophonist. His work can be heard on many of her hit songs, and Cappello is also featured in some of Turner’s music videos. These days, Cappello still plays, as he just released his first solo album last year.

Like many major movie releases, The Lost Boys was given a tie-in novelization to coincide with the release of the film. Author Craig Shaw Gardner was given a script prior to the film’s release and had the task of developing the material into a 220-page novel. Because some of the scripted scenes were later cut from the film, the novel contains material not seen in the theatrical version of the story. This includes Michael’s work as a trash collector and more about the Surf Nazis gang.

If you’re looking for a copy of the book for yourself, be prepared to spend a few bucks. They’re on Amazon, but they aren’t cheap.

The Lost Boys was a hit musically as well, as the official soundtrack was met with success. It managed to peak at number 15 on the Billboard chart, featuring a variety of memorable tracks. Perhaps the most well-known of them all is Gerard McMahon’s “Cry Little Sister,” as major artists are still covering the classic song over 30 years later.

Over the years, the song has been remixed by such artists as Zug Izland, Eminem, Dee Snider, Tyga, and Krayzie Bone. More recently, it was covered once again by Marilyn Manson for the upcoming Marvel movie The New Mutants. You can watch the official music video for it below.

The death of Kiefer Sutherland’s David is not quite as definitive as the other vanquished vampires, and it turns out there’s a reason for that. Joel Schumacher was already envisioning a possible sequel and wanted to leave room to bring the character back. Picturing a female-led follow-up called The Lost Girls, Schumacher made several attempts to get the sequel made in the following years, but the project never managed to get off the ground.

“I told them to do Lost Girls and not do Lost Boys sequel,” Schumacher said in 2007. “There is no Lost Boys sequel. All the boys are dead. But The Lost Boys are all dead. The Coreys are too old. So what would be the movie? You’d have to make up a whole new set of characters.”

The Lost Girls never happened, but The Lost Boys did eventually get two sequels. However, since they were both quietly released directly to DVD in 2008 and 2010. Lost Boys: The Tribe manages to bring back Corey Feldman as Edgar Frog, while Corey Haim appears in a post-credit scene. Lost Boys: The Thirst also features Feldman and Jamison Newlander reprising the Frog Brothers.

While clearly not as well-known as the original film, the sequels are interesting in that they have such prominent characters returning to the story. However, critics across the globe were left unimpressed, as both movies boast 0% rotten ratings on Rotten Tomatoes.

The universe of The Lost Boys has also been heavily expanded through separate comic books. In 2008, the one-off comic Lost Boys: Reign of Frogs was published by Wildstorm, serving as a sequel to the movie. It features the return of David and bridges the gap between the 1987 film and the 2008 sequel The Tribe.

In 2016, Vertigo launched another Lost Boys comic book series which also takes place after the events of the film. The six-part series also features many of the same characters, as the plot has Michael, Sam, and the Frog Brothers protecting Star from the Blood Belles.

We might not be seeing any new Lost Boys movies anytime soon, but the franchise isn’t through just yet. As of now, Warner Bros. is currently gearing up to shoot a pilot episode for a proposed TV series reboot of the film. The pilot is written by Heather Mitchell with Twilight director Catherine Hardwicke directing.

In May of 2019, the network passed on a pilot that had been filmed for a possible pick-up. Rather than scrapping the project entirely, the studio is giving it another go with a new cast and some major script revisions. Time will tell if the network orders a full season once the second pilot is submitted, and the current plan is for it to shoot in the fall of 2019.

2020 Update: Per Syfy, the newest iteration of the planned series is being rewritten by Rob Thomas and Heather Mitchell with Marcos Siega now attached to direct. 

Also Check Out: 10 Things You May Not Know About ‘The Devil’s Rejects’ and our other horror trivia lists!