Just about every franchise is being resurrected and rebooted these days, from sci-fi flicks like Tomb Raider and Predator to sitcoms such as Roseanne and Will and Grace. Sometimes these revivals work, sometimes they don’t, but they almost always generate lots of interest — especially when they come out of left field like Bill & Ted 3.
There hasn’t been a Bill & Ted movie since 1991’s Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey, the sequel to 1989’s Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure. In the ensuing three decades, Keanu Reeves (Ted) has gone on to movie superstardom with roles in blockbuster franchises like Speed, The Matrix, and John Wick, while Alex Winter (Bill) has spent more time behind the camera. But now, against all odds, the pair will soon possibly reunite in a third Bill & Ted film — at least according to original writers Ed Solomon and Chris Matheson.
EW recently brought together both stars and both writers for a reunion, and the conversation naturally shifted to the franchise’s future. While no studio is on board yet, Solomon and Matheson have already completed a script called Bill & Ted Face the Music, and Reeves and Winter are both fully on board to star in it. The plot revolves around the fact that the pair have yet to write the music that will turn the world into a utopia, which was supposed to be their destiny as revealed at the end of the second film. “You’re told you’re gonna save the world,” Matheson told EW. “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.”
“Indomitable spirits confronted with, ‘Is this the end?'” Reeves said of the plot. “Of course, there is a little caveat in that someone comes from the future and says: ‘Not only do you have to save the world, you have to save everything.'” Solomon went on to compare the film to a very familiar story: “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.”
This all sounds great, but how likely is it to happen? Apparently, we should have concrete news in another month, according to Solomon, as the film just needs to secure financing. They’ve already landed a director in Galaxy Quest‘s Dean Parisot, and they’ve managed to convince Steven Soderbergh to serve as a producer. Also producing is Scott Kroopf, who produced the original two, and Bill Sadler is slated to reprise his role as Death. Solomon also teased “a few delicious cameos by people to be named another time.”
While there have been efforts to make a third Bill & Ted movie for over a decade, we’ve never been this close to actually seeing one made. It really feels like the stars are aligned this time, and we can’t wait to catch up with these guys 30 years after they first went on their Excellent Adventure.
