Incredibly, it has now been nearly 30 years since Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey was released on the big screen. With that much time passing between the last known adventures of this most-excellent duo, and the forthcoming release of Bill & Ted Face the Music, audiences are no doubt going to have to get used to some changes having occurred on the fresh-young faces of our heroes and any other returning characters. But, for actor William Sadler who will be coming back as The Reaper in the upcoming Bill & Ted Face the Music, all it took was putting on the costume and makeup once again, and it was like those past decades never happened. Sadler has been discussing his deathly comeback, stating that, despite the amount of time that passed, it was just like old times.
“The spirit of the original movies is all there. All the fun came back instantly – not just for me, but for Keanu and Alex too. My knees aren’t as good and the body is a little creakier, but the minute we put on the make-up and the robes it was as if The Reaper had been trapped in a bottle for 30 years, and as soon as we pulled the cork off he came flying out and started improvising just like I did back in Bogus Journey.”
William Sadler clearly has a real passion for the world of Bill & Ted and it will be great to see the actor slip back into the black robes and thick accent. No doubt that, just as it was for him, audiences will feel like they have traveled back in time when they see him dancing around as Death once again. Other than the years and years that have gone by since last we hung out with the air-guitaring Wyld Stallyns, it has also been quite some time since Bill & Ted Face the Music has been in development.
“For years, I kept hearing from Alex and one of the co-writers, Ed Solomon. They kept telling me that [a reboot] was coming and letting me know what stage the script was at. It’s been in the pipeline since 2007 and I was really surprised that it took as long as it did for the powers that be to say ‘OK. That sounds like a good idea. Let’s make a third movie to see where these guys are.'”
Bill & Ted Face the Music picks up with our intrepid duo who are now enduring the monotony of middle-aged life. William “Bill” S. Preston, Esq. and Theodore “Ted” Logan are warned by a visitor from the future of the need for them to create a song in 78 minutes that will save all life on Earth and the entire universe. The pair work with their families, old friends, famous musicians, and each other to complete the task.
The movie is directed by Dean Parisot and written by Chris Matheson and Ed Solomon. Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter reprise their roles as the title characters with William Sadler reprising his role as the Grim Reaper. Bill & Ted Face the Music is scheduled for release on August 21, 2020. Excellent! This bodacious news comes to us from NME.
