It would be hard at first to swallow
that a movie about two slackers playing at being rock stars going on a
time-travel trip to the past inside a phone booth could become a cult classic.
But that was indeed what “Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure” became. The
1989 sci-fi comedy and its 1991 follow-up “Bogus Journey” were but part of what
became a modest franchise before fading into obscurity. But now the creative
minds and lead stars of the previous films are working on a third installment
planned for next year, and a full cast is now being developed.
Comic Book Resources has it that actors and actresses, both returning
from the original “Bill & Ted” movies and new to the franchise, have been
announced by MGM and Orion Pictures this week to fill out the cast. This is
prudent as principal photography for the upcoming “Bill & Ted Face the
Music” is scheduled to begin this coming July. The production is also doing a
nice balancing act of calling on old nostalgia and drawing in new fan interest
with their choices to go in front of the camera with leads Alex Winter and
Keanu Reeves as the titular Bill and Ted, Wyld Stallyns.
First there are the returning
cast members from both “Excellent Adventure” and “Bogus Journey.” They are
quite vital for bringing back the spirit of the old films, considering that
prominent cast member George Carlin, who played Bill and Ted’s future-originating
mentor figure Rufus, has passed away. But Hal Landon Jr. and Amy Stoch hav
signed on to reprise their respective roles as Captain Jonathan Logan (Ted’s
father) and Missy, former stepmother to Bill, then Ted.
The new cast members for “Face
the Music” do not exactly play new characters themselves, but instead will pick
up from previous performers in playing other characters from prior
installments. Beck Bennett from “Saturday Night” and Disney Channel’s “Ducktales”
remake will play Ted’s brother Deacon Logan. Next, Jayma Mays from “Glee” and
Erinn Hayes from “General Hospital” will be the latest to portray Bill and Ted’s
respective wives and band-mates the Princesses Joanna and Elizabeth. It should
be recalled that the Wyld Stallyns picked them up from medieval Europe in the
first film and married them, with the two becoming mothers to daughters Thea
Preston and Billie Logan, played by Samara Weaving and Brigitte Lundy-Paige.
“Bill & Ted Face the Music”
will see the once-young Wyld Stallyns as now-middle-aged has-beens, who are wondering
if their music has already realized the peaceful future utopia where Rufus
hails from. Their fears are confirmed when a new time traveller spurs them to
make the song that will kickstart the utopia soon, or the universe will be
doomed. The movie is due for an August 21 release next year.
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