Carlos Bastarache: billandtedstill

Friday, 30 March 2018

billandtedstill

Orion Pictures

We got two Bill and Ted movies, 1989’s Excellent Adventure and 1991’s Bogus Journey, in two years, but none since. Sometimes the world isn’t fair, y’know?

It’s not for a lack of trying, however: a third film has been in discussion for over a decade, according to Keanu Reeves in an enlightening interview with Entertainment Weekly. “[Writers] Chris Matheson and Ed Solomon pitched us an idea. It sounded great,” he said, but “in show business, there’s show and then there’s business.” In other words, nobody wanted to pony up the dough to make more Bill and Ted, but that was before the reboot craze took over.

To hear the creative team talk, we’ve never been closer to the third Bill & Ted. “We are hoping to close a deal with some financiers,” says Solomon. “Hopefully within the next month or so, we’ll have news that will stick.” (Via)

A director, Dean Parisot (Galaxy Quest), is attached, and Steven Soderbergh (Unsane) is one of the producers. There’s even a script: Bill & Ted Face the Music, which Solomon described as “like A Christmas Carol with Bill and Ted.” Matheson added, “You’re told you’re gonna save the world. And now you’re 50 and you haven’t done it. Now they’re married, and it affects their marriages, and it affects their relationships with their kids, and it affects their everything.” William Sadler, who played Death in Bogus Journey, is slated to return, along with “delicious cameos by people to be named another time,” Solomon said.

There’s still a long way to go before Bill and Ted 3 is a reality — Alex Winter’s impression of every studio’s reaction to the script: “What the eff is this?” — but at least it’s no longer a fantasy. After all, we need to be reminded to “be excellent to each other” now more than ever.