The Goonies Cast Debunks the Biggest Rumor About the Film as They Reunite Ahead of Its 40th Anniversary — Can You Guess What It Is?

Washington, D.C., got a visit from the Goon(ies) squad!

The Goonies stars Sean Astin, Corey Feldman, Martha Plimpton, Kerri Green, Robert Davi and Joe Pantoliano reunited in the nation’s capital for Awesome Con on Saturday, April 5, ahead of the beloved 1985 film’s 40th anniversary in June.

During the “Hey You Guys! The Goonies Reunion” panel discussion and fan Q&A, which was moderated by PEOPLE’s Breanne L. Heldman, Astin, 54, debunked the long-standing rumor that the child stars saw One-Eyed Willy’s pirate ship for the first time while filming, and that their reactions captured on film were them reacting in real life.

“I was sort of offended that they had that idea, that they wouldn’t let the kids see the pirate ship, so that they could capture their real reaction. Like, what? We don’t know how to do real? We did real reactions all the time,” he said.

“But I remember wanting to perform in such a way, because I had had a sneak peek of it,” Astin continued. “So I wanted to perform in a way that really made them think that they had captured the honest reactions, so they would for 40 years be like, ‘Oh, we got these kids to do this thing!’ “

Plimpton, 54, chimed in, adding, however, “I hadn’t seen it. My performance was honest.”

As Pantoliano, 73, asked The Real O’Neals star, “How many takes of your reaction did they do?” she responded, “One. [That’s] all they needed, baby.”

Feldman, 53, meanwhile, recalled “the coolest thing” about filming the memorable scenes: “the pool.”

“The water that we were in, all the way from the ship to the waterslide — get this — was heated,” he explained. “It was a heated pool. That was badass.”

Feldman, Astin and Green, 58, have seen a lot of each other and their fellow Goonies recently.

Feldman and Green joined Josh Brolin, Jeff Cohen and the film’s screenwriter, Chris Columbus, for Ke Huy Quan’s hand and footprint ceremony in front of the TCL Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles on Feb. 3.

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Later that evening, Feldman, Cohen, 50, and Green were back at the venue for the premiere of Astin and Quan’s movie Love Hurts.

On the red carpet, both Feldman and Quan, 53, stated they’re still interested in a long-awaited Goonies sequel — and the cast reiterated their hopes to be a part of it at Awesome Con.

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“We love that Steven Spielberg is engaged and back in the Goonies mindset, so that’s exciting for all of us, and whatever happens, we hope that it’s worth it,” Feldman said.

“We hope that everybody has a great adventure. Keep the adventure alive,” he continued, as Plimpton added, “I think [fans are] going to see The Goonies 2, whether we’re in it or not. I think that’s pretty obvious. At least, I hope [they] will.”