Most triumphant!
We're finally getting a threequel in the saga of Bill S. Preston, Esquire, and Ted "Theodore"
Logan.
While we can't travel into the future to watch Bill & Ted Face the Music right now, we've
rounded up everything we know about their next (and assuredly, most excellent) adventure.
Keanu Reeves is back
Before he was Johnny Utah, Johnny Mnemonic, or John Wick, Keanu Reeves endeared himself
to audiences as the lovably dimwitted Ted "Theodore" Logan, who wanted nothing more
than to make a triumphant music video and become a famous rock star.
Opposing Ted was his rigid father, whose threats of sending his son away to military school
motivated Ted to do whatever it took to pass his History class and stay at San Dimas high
school.
Reeves has been talking about a Bill & Ted sequel for years, although a decade ago, it
barely resembled the movie in its current form.
Back in 2008, when Reeves talked to MTV about a third Bill & Ted, he said it would be a
remake that wouldn't necessarily involve him, although he still spoke affectionately about
the possibility.
Even back then, though, the seed for Face the Music seemed to have been germinating
in Reeves' imagination, with him saying,
"I had once mentioned about doing it when we were 40.
Now maybe the only shot we have is to do it when we're 50."
Turns out, he was close; Reeves will be turning 56 just one day after Face the Music arrives.
"But yeah, I'm thinking I'm back."
Alex Winter is back
As much as we all love Keanu Reeves, Bill & Ted doesn't work without a Bill.
Fortunately, Alex Winter is just as stoked as Reeves to be returning to the role that
made him famous — as long as it's done right.
Speaking to IndieWire in 2018 about a possible third film, Winter said,
"We've been pretty philosophical about it, like if we could get it made, great, but if
it's not going to get made to our creative specifications, we're all perfectly happy
not doing it."
Fortunately, Winter seems to agree with the consensus that Face the Music is indeed the
film the original creative team wanted to make.
It will be Winter's first major starring role in more than 25 years, after he walked away
from acting to pursue his passion for documentary filmmaking, and to give himself space to heal
from the trauma of his childhood.
In recent years, Winter has made several documentary films focusing on technology, including Downloaded
and Deep Web, and says that making documentaries is, quote, "the most creatively gratified
I've ever been."
Still, Winter was excited to take a short hiatus from documentaries to step back into
Bill's high top sneakers and inexplicable crop top.
Winter added that,
"I really just need to turn that entire side of my brain off and be the dumbass that Bill
is for three months."
Death comes for Bill & Ted (again)
Although we're pretty sure that Bill & Ted Face the Music wouldn't dare kill Bill and
Ted again, there's still going to be some role for Death to play in their midlife crisis.
William Sadler is reprising his role as the Grim Reaper, who failed to permanently collect
the souls of the Wyld Stallyns in Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey, and subsequently became their
servant.
"You have sunk my battleship."
"Excellent!"
No further details have been revealed about how Death will figure into Bill & Ted Face
the Music, or whether he'll be functioning as an ally or an antagonist to the two adorably
boneheaded heroes.
Who knows, maybe he's still a member of Wyld Stallyns on the upright bass, or has become
a superstar in his own right following a resurgence of the popularity of his Reaper Rap.
Daughters of the Dudes
Just when you thought that Bill & Ted Face the Music's road to release couldn't get any
more heartwarming, the production had to go and announce the names of Bill and Ted's daughters.
Ready or Not actress Samara Weaving will be playing Thea Preston, while Brigette Lundy-Paine
will be portraying Billie Logan.
Yes, Bill and Ted named their daughters after each other.
This was technically revealed at the end of Bogus Journey, though many fans simply assumed
that "Little Bill" and "Little Ted" were boys.
As writer Ed Solomon pointed out on Twitter, though, the kids were played by girls to begin
with.
Producer Scott Kroopf described Weaving and Lundy-Paine as, quote, "funny and unique,"
to Entertainment Weekly, and said that seeing them together was like the first time they
ever saw Winter and Reeves as Bill and Ted.
According to the film's official synopsis, Billie and Thea will be instrumental in helping
their dads write the song that will save the universe.
New princesses
One of the most excellent parts of Bill and Ted's first time-hopping adventure was their
stop in medieval England, where they rescued princesses Joanna and Elizabeth.
Bill and Ted went on to marry the two princesses off-screen at the end of Bogus Journey during
their 16 months of intensive guitar training, and arrived back at Battle of the Bands carrying
their infant children on their backs.
Now the princesses are back, although they've been recast for Face the Music.
Jayma Mays of Glee fame will play Bill's wife Joanna, and Children Hospital's Erinn Hayes
will play Elizabeth Logan.
New and returning faces
Were it not for Ted's strict father, Bill and Ted may never have felt the need to work
so hard to pass history, and embark on their first voyage through time.
So it's only fitting that the Logan family will be back for Face the Music, led by Hal
Landon Jr., who will be reprising his role as Ted's father.
Meanwhile, Beck Bennett will be taking over the role of Ted's brother Deacon, replacing
Frazier Bain, whose career has shifted from acting to producing.
Hopefully after 30 years, Captain Logan will have mellowed out a bit when it comes to his
desire to control his son, but we wouldn't be surprised if the Captain still somehow
manages to work the phrase "military school" into conversation.
Meanwhile, Amy Stoch is also returning as Bill's disturbingly youthful ex-stepmom Missy,
who married his dad before the start of Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, only to divorce
him and marry Ted's dad before Bogus Journey.
At the end of that film, it's implied that Missy divorces Captain Logan too, then gets
engaged to the villainous De Nomolos, although it's never confirmed if she goes through with
the wedding.
It's unclear what role she'll play in the adult Bill and Ted's lives in Face the Music,
but we're sure that however Missy factors in, it's sure to make Bill uncomfortable.
"Your stepmom's cute."
“Shut up, Ted."
"You know when she was a senior and we were freshmen?"
"Shut up, Ted."
The excellent trailer
Although Bill & Ted fans have long been champing at the bit to see our favorite time-traveling
bozos back in action, we had a long wait to see any actual footage from Face the Music.
To tide us over while we waited for an official trailer, Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter, introducing
themselves in character as "Wyld Stallyns", filmed a short video at the Hollywood Bowl.
In the video, the pair first announced the threequel and its title, thanked fans for
sticking with them, and ended by reminding us all to be excellent.
Finally, in June of 2020, Orion Pictures delivered the full trailer for Bill & Ted Face the Music,
and it quickly became clear that the ride would be worth the wait.
The sneak peek offered our first look at our middle-aged heroes, their kids, and their
old friend Death.
A second trailer followed, promising a return trip to Hell and setting up the most dire
stakes of their mission.
It's clear from what we've seen so far that the classic Wyld Stallyns style of fun is
alive and well, and we can't wait to see more in September.
A tribute to Rufus
The only major Bill & Ted character not returning to Face the Music is the duo's time-traveling
mentor Rufus, played by legendary comedian George Carlin, who passed away in 2008.
Rather than recast Rufus or attempt to sweep his absence under the rug, Ed Solomon says
that the third Bill & Ted film will serve as a tribute to both the character and the
actor who portrayed him.
Solomon said in an interview with Digital Spy in 2018,
"George Carlin is so deeply missed by all of us.
There is a... not just an homage to him, it's more than that.
His absence is a part of the whole movie."
Solomon went on to reveal that Face the Music will see Bill and Ted interact with their
younger selves and Rufus by incorporating footage of Carlin, along with the younger
Reeves and Winter, from Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure.
While Rufus may be gone in the upcoming sequel, he definitely won't be forgotten.
"Be excellent to each other."
"Party on, dude."
Some bogus pressure
Although Bill and Ted actually learned how to play their instruments and seemingly became
famous at the end of Bogus Journey, the trailers for Face the Music tells us that they never
did compose the greatest song ever written.
Middle age will find them feeling the pressure of a destiny unfulfilled.
According to writers Chris Matheson and Ed Solomon, the script tackles the pressure of
being told they're going to save the world and not having done it yet, and of being 50
and wondering if you should give up on the dreams you still haven't achieved.
"You totally blew it, dude."
The screenwriters went on to explain that the idea felt much more interesting than telling
a Bill & Ted story in which they'd already become famous, saved the world, and had some
kind of falling out.
Solomon told EW,
"I think it's kind of like A Christmas Carol with Bill and Ted.
Looking at their lives, and really kind of rediscovering what they're about."
A faithful sequel
The script for Bill & Ted Face the Music has gone through a lot of changes since Solomon
and Matheson first pitched the idea to Reeves and Winter in 2007.
However, one thing that's always remained constant is everyone's desire to make a film
that feels like it belongs alongside Excellent Adventure and Bogus Journey.
No one involved wanted to lose the elements that make Bill and Ted special, and it sounds
as though they think they've succeeded.
Reeves told EW,
"I love the characters so much, who they are, the spirit of their voice that Chris and Ed
have given [them]."
Winter added,
"The whole trajectory of getting the next one off the ground has been pretty much exactly
like the experience of getting the original.
Going to every studio, and they're like, 'What the eff is this?'
It's this kind of independent spirit, and the films have an anachronistic quality to
them that's a big part of what they are, fundamentally.
I'm really happy that this one is the same."
A tight deadline
Ever since the official synopsis for Bill & Ted Face the Music was revealed, we've known
that the plot would revolve around the two main characters facing the pressure of not
having yet written their world-saving song as they stare down the barrel of retirement
age.
However, it now sounds as though the window in which the duo must deliver their song is
much narrower than we previously thought.
Speaking to EW about Bill and Ted's predicament in the threequel, writer Chris Matheson revealed,
"[They've] got literally 80 minutes or all of reality will come to an end."
With less time to save the world than it would take to watch either of their previous two
movies, Bill and Ted will have to make every second count if they're going to have a chance
of succeeding.
Fortunately, it sounds like they'll have help from a variety of sources, including their
daughters, and Kid Cudi's character, who is, apparently...Kid Cudi?
Director Dean Parisot told EW,
"He plays Kid Cudi.
He gets mysteriously thrown around through various times, because all time and space
is coming unglued."
Whether Parisot means that Cudi will play a fictional character similar to his real-life
persona, or an alternate-reality version of himself, we'll have to wait until the movie
arrives on September 1st to find out.
All we can do is hope that it's…
"Excellent!"
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