This weekend marks the 30th anniversary of Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure, the slacker teen comedy that proved smarts aren’t always integral for success - heart counts too. After all, it was the enduring friendship of Bill S. Preston Esq and Ted Theodore Logan (and their real-life counterparts Alex Winter and Keanu Reeves) that helped keep the film close to fans’ hearts. Good thing too, as 1989’s critics weren’t exactly keen on Director Stephen Herek’s franchise starter - even accusing it of actively promoting stupidity. Thankfully audiences were kinder to the time-travelling alter-egos of writers Chris Matheson and Ed Solomon. Cut to 2019 and rumours of a third instalment never seem far from movie gossip sites - but what exactly do we know about Bill and Ted Face The Music? Let’s take a look...
Wait For It...
When we last saw Bill and Ted at the end of 1990’s Bogus Journey, they’d returned from a trip to a future where they’d finally fulfilled their fate of writing the music that heals humanity. However when we find them in Bill and Ted Face The Music - they’re still waiting for that particular beat to drop. Having transformed from dudes to dads, the duo must come face-to-face with the fact that they’re yet to achieve their world-saving destiny and embark on a jaunt through time to figure out why that is. It’s a theme that runs deep for Bill and Ted’s real-life alter-egos Matheson and Solomon who have lived with these characters (and their various ups and downs) since their early 20s - but it’s also a quest that’s universally relatable: What teenager didn’t think they’d grow up to conquer the world only to have reality get in the way?
Rufus Redux
One of the biggest question marks hanging over Bill and Ted 3 is how Matheson, Solomon and Face The Music Director Dean Parisot plan to tackle the absence of George Carlin’s Rufus. As their cool-as-ice guide through time, Carlin - who passed away back in 2008 - swapped his whip-smart stand-up persona for that of a laid back time lord, providing Bill and Ted with their time travelling phone booth and guiding them through ‘89’s Excellent Adventure and Peter Hewitt’s 1990 sequel Bogus Journey. Thankfully Rufus fans can rest easy in the knowledge that Carlin’s presence will very much be felt throughout Bill and Ted Face The Music in the form of Rufus’s daughter who makes an emergency visit to the San Dimas chosen ones to hit home the chaos that awaits if they don’t seal their future fates.
Back To Hell
While George Carlin may be absent in Face The Music, there is another familiar face from the franchise’s previous instalments that promises to make a return alongside Reeves and Winter. William Sadler’s portrayal of Death - complete with hood and scythe - became a fast fan-favourite following his appearance in Bogus Journey’s board-game sequences in Hell and while little is known about exactly how he’ll factor into the duo’s latest adventure, both of the film’s co-writers have let slip that he is due to make an appearance in part three. Could this mean Bill and Ted have to go back into key events from their past to help fix their future? Time will tell, Dude.
Time For An Upgrade
While Bill and Ted’s journey in Face the Music is very much an internal one, Matheson and Solomon have confirmed that it will once again involve sending the duo through the circuits of time. This means they’ll have to join Rufus’s daughter in their time-travelling phone booth if they want to survive their mid-life slump and write the music that fixes humanity's ills - and make no mistake - it will still be a phone booth, despite their lack of familiarity with modern audiences. That said, the brains behind the series have teased that this icon of a bygone time could have a few surprises hiding up its sleeve. Perhaps we should expect a few upgrades or alternate versions? It’s about time...
Bill and Ted Face The Music is due to go into production this Spring. To read my retrospective piece on Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure, head to the SFX page.
Wait For It...
When we last saw Bill and Ted at the end of 1990’s Bogus Journey, they’d returned from a trip to a future where they’d finally fulfilled their fate of writing the music that heals humanity. However when we find them in Bill and Ted Face The Music - they’re still waiting for that particular beat to drop. Having transformed from dudes to dads, the duo must come face-to-face with the fact that they’re yet to achieve their world-saving destiny and embark on a jaunt through time to figure out why that is. It’s a theme that runs deep for Bill and Ted’s real-life alter-egos Matheson and Solomon who have lived with these characters (and their various ups and downs) since their early 20s - but it’s also a quest that’s universally relatable: What teenager didn’t think they’d grow up to conquer the world only to have reality get in the way?
Rufus Redux
One of the biggest question marks hanging over Bill and Ted 3 is how Matheson, Solomon and Face The Music Director Dean Parisot plan to tackle the absence of George Carlin’s Rufus. As their cool-as-ice guide through time, Carlin - who passed away back in 2008 - swapped his whip-smart stand-up persona for that of a laid back time lord, providing Bill and Ted with their time travelling phone booth and guiding them through ‘89’s Excellent Adventure and Peter Hewitt’s 1990 sequel Bogus Journey. Thankfully Rufus fans can rest easy in the knowledge that Carlin’s presence will very much be felt throughout Bill and Ted Face The Music in the form of Rufus’s daughter who makes an emergency visit to the San Dimas chosen ones to hit home the chaos that awaits if they don’t seal their future fates.
Back To Hell
While George Carlin may be absent in Face The Music, there is another familiar face from the franchise’s previous instalments that promises to make a return alongside Reeves and Winter. William Sadler’s portrayal of Death - complete with hood and scythe - became a fast fan-favourite following his appearance in Bogus Journey’s board-game sequences in Hell and while little is known about exactly how he’ll factor into the duo’s latest adventure, both of the film’s co-writers have let slip that he is due to make an appearance in part three. Could this mean Bill and Ted have to go back into key events from their past to help fix their future? Time will tell, Dude.
Time For An Upgrade
While Bill and Ted’s journey in Face the Music is very much an internal one, Matheson and Solomon have confirmed that it will once again involve sending the duo through the circuits of time. This means they’ll have to join Rufus’s daughter in their time-travelling phone booth if they want to survive their mid-life slump and write the music that fixes humanity's ills - and make no mistake - it will still be a phone booth, despite their lack of familiarity with modern audiences. That said, the brains behind the series have teased that this icon of a bygone time could have a few surprises hiding up its sleeve. Perhaps we should expect a few upgrades or alternate versions? It’s about time...
Bill and Ted Face The Music is due to go into production this Spring. To read my retrospective piece on Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure, head to the SFX page.
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