It’s official. We’ll see the further adventures of William “Bill” S. Preston Esq. and Theodore “Ted” Logan next year.
Franchise stars Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter broke the news on social media this week.
The world is about to get a lot more excellent. Watch this special announcement from your two favorite dudes! 8.21.20 🎸⚡️ pic.twitter.com/miOtBhinlC
— Bill & Ted 3 (@BillandTed3) March 20, 2019
The awesome Tweet generated more than 52,000 retweets on Twitter alone. Suffice to say the culture is welcoming this belated threequel with open arms. “Bill & Ted Face the Music” is tentatively slated for an August 2020 release.
Ah, the power of nostalgia. That doesn’t mean the upcoming movie will be bodacious.
Why? The answers are both obvious and a bit sad.
Sometimes … the Past Deserves to Stay in the Past
Remember “Zoolander 2”? If you don’t, you missed one of the lamest sequels in modern memory. Fan passion for Ben Stiller’s 2001 comedy forced that sequel into existence, but a quick glance at part two showed it should have remained an unclaimed project.
The same could be true for “Face the Music.” Both Winter and Reeves look hale and healthy at 53 and 54, respectively. That doesn’t mean seeing them do a variation of their slacker shtick will age as well. The idea of a new “Bill & Ted” movie may end up being better than the real thing.
The ’80s and Woke Comedy Don’t Mix
Part of Bill & Ted’s comedy came from their teen desires. The female roles in the original film weren’t exactly meaty, either. That’s all well and good circa 1989. Today? Any new comedy had better be empowering and woke or the Social Justice Warriors will take aim and fire.
Worse? Today’s screenwriters understand that on a gut level and they often write accordingly. Is it any wonder we haven’t had many comedy smashes over the past five years? Woke is a comedy killer. Just ask those lady Ghostbusters.
The ‘Why’ Still Matters
Hollywood loves making sequels nearly as much as audiences are eager to line up for them. Some make perfect sense, such as “The Godfather Part II.” Others, like “Blade Runner 2049,” fit neatly into the mythos established by the original property.
Where’s the “why” for a new Bill & Ted romp? Were the original screenwriters, who are returning for “Face the Music,” burning to tell this story? Or is it a matter of producers realizing the Bill & Ted brand still packs a punch and greenlighting this accordingly?
The Culture Left Both Bill and Ted Behind
Movies hit the zeitgeist for a reason. It’s not always easy to pinpoint, but it matters. “Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure” tickled us back in 1989. The pair’s lovably dense mindset struck a chord, both due to the stars’ chemistry and the tenor of the times.
Can that be duplicated one more time? It’s important to remember that “Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey” wasn’t exactly a smash, earning two million less ($38 million vs. $40 million) than the original despite the first film’s following.
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