Nowadays when one thinks of the
roles played by actor Keanu Reeves, they would perhaps know him easily as the
un-retired assassin “John Wick” in the self-titled films. Going further back
they might recall him as the virtual reality-warping chosen One called Neo from
the “Matrix” trilogy. Back in the 1980s however, he would be best remembered as
Ted, Theodore Logan, one half of the most triumphant aspiring rock band the
Wyld Stallyns (so spelled) whose music becomes the foundation of a future
society. At least that is how 1989 comedy “Bill & Ted’s Excellent
Adventure,” its two TV spinoffs, and sequel “Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey”
would tell it.
For years Keanu Reeves and his “Bill
& Ted” co-star Alex Winter (playing Bill S. Preston, Esq.) have discussed
and teased the production of a third movie in the franchise. It was not until earlier
this year that the promised film, “Bill & Ted Face the Music,” was
announced. Now, as The Hollywood Reporter
tells us, two new names have been added to the cast following the reprisal of
Reeves and Winter as Bill and Ted, along with William Sadler as the Grim Reaper
from 1991’s “Bogus Journey.” They are the actresses portraying Bill and Ted’s daughters
as young women.
That would be a surprise
particularly for those who watched “Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey,” who might
remember the two main Wyld Stallyns introducing their then-infant children,
unimaginatively called “Little Ted” (Bill’s) and “Little Bill” (Ted’s).
Initially assumed to be sons, this recent casting clarifies them as female. Regular
Netflix actresses Brigette Lundy-Paine and Samara Weaving respectively play
Billie Logan and Thea Preston, establishing that Winter and Reeves’ characters
did marry their medieval-England princess girlfriends and become parents. Where
this plot point will go has yet to be definitively revealed.
“Face the Music” producer Scott
Kroopf remarked that the two actresses (Lundy-Paine from the US and Weaving
from Australia) were chosen due to their tandem chemistry that felt like déjà
vu with Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter for their cult-classic roles. That is no empty
platitude considering that original franchise creators Chris Matheson and Ed
Solomon are writing this movie’s story. Comedy veteran Dean Parisot (“Galaxy
Quest”) is directing for MGM via their secondary label Orion Pictures. One
element from the original films that is conspicuously absent is the late George
Carlin’s mentor character Rufus, who has not been recast.
Storyline details would have the
now middle-aged Bill and Ted go on another time-travel adventure as they look
back on their past hijinks as slacker teen rockers, and ponder when the utopian
future influenced by their music (and where Rufus and their phone-booth time
machine came from) will finally come to pass. “Bill & Ted Face the Music”
is scheduled for an August 2020 release.
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