Picture a scenario where Netflix waited nearly ten years for a second season, attempting to keep characters the same age. Modern technology would permit digital de-aging, but in 1991, recasting was the sole solution when child actors had outgrown their roles. This was the peculiar situation with a forgotten fantasy sequel that perhaps shouldn’t have been titled The NeverEnding Story.
Most fantasy enthusiasts are familiar with the 1984 movie The NeverEnding Story, which made an ambitious attempt to adapt part of Michael Ende’s cherished novel. However, even those who grew up in the 80s and 90s barely recall its sequel, The NeverEnding Story II: The Next Chapter. Watching this peculiar failure today immediately reveals why it’s been collectively forgotten.
The film premiered in the U.S. on February 8, 1991, following its German debut on October 25, 1990. It performed poorly at the box office, earning only $17 million against a $35 million budget. Despite affection for the 1984 original and its popularity on VHS, the sequel struggled partly because it lacked the original cast—Barret Oliver as Bastian and Noah Hathaway as Atreyu were replaced by Jonathan Brandis and Kenny Morrison respectively.
Recasting isn’t inherently negative—sequels do it frequently (Iron Man 2, Back to the Future II) without much audience complaint. However, the seven-year gap meant the original actors were firmly embedded in viewers’ minds, making the change risky. Brandis, a popular teen star of the early 90s, was actually well-cast; those who loved him in the 1993 cult hit will likely view this as his audition for the role of Lucas Wolenczak in that series. The second scene even features a pool where Bastian envisions a massive fantasy realm in his school gym. (Bastian’s dad is played by which completes the 1990s atmosphere.)
The real issue with The NeverEnding Story II isn’t poor casting—Brandis arguably outperforms both Oliver and Hathaway. The opening feels more like a family drama than fantasy. Surprisingly, the real-world scenes are more compelling than the portal fantasy elements, with the film showing more assurance in Bastian’s suburban home or Koreander’s bookstore.
As in the original, reading The NeverEnding Story transports Bastian to Fantasia, where the problems start. Under George T. Miller’s direction, Fantasia has the production quality of a 1990s TV movie, losing the atmospheric, fog-drenched lighting of Wolfgang Petersen’s 1984 version. The sequel’s aesthetic resembles Return to Oz crossed with Barbarella. The creatures seem like castoffs from Flash Gordon—unflatteringly. (One mud creature actually looks suspiciously like the pile of excrement from).
Labeling this as kitsch or camp would be generous, as the film clearly aimed for earnestness. Its central premise—Bastian returns to Fantasia while sorceress Xayide (Clarissa Burt) uses a machine to steal his memories—is flimsy. Koreander (Thomas Hill) poses the question: “Have you ever read a book twice…they change.”
This sentiment captures the film perfectly: it’s a sequel attempting to be a low-budget reboot while relying on nostalgia for the original. The NeverEnding Story II tries to adapt the novel’s second half, which the first film omitted, yet it feels less like a continuation and more like a story perpetually trying to begin.