SDCC 2020 – Bill And Ted Face The Music

Alex Winter and Keanu Reeves are back as Bill and Ted. Photo: Orion Pictures.

Bill and Ted are back! Kevin Smith, a self-confessed fan of the original movies, chaired the San Diego Comic-Con panel on the third installment of the Bill and Ted franchise. He was joined by Alex Winter and Keanu Reeves, who reprise their roles as Bill and Ted, Samara Weaving (Thea), Brigette Lundy-Paine (Billie), William Sadler, who returns as Death, plus director Dean Parisot and writers Ed Solomon and Chris Matheson.

Kevin Smith credits Bill and Ted as being a huge inspiration for the characters of Jay and Silent Bob, and he is clearly keenly aware of the nostalgia that his generation have for the original movies, and in turn, how difficult it can be to return to such beloved classic characters after thirty years. That said, he watched Bill and Ted Face the Music the night before the panel and loved it, and also said that it reduced him to an emotional mess, which is not something that fans would necessarily expect from a Bill and Ted movie.

Due to the current global pandemic, Bill and Ted Face the Music will enjoy a simultaneous theatre and on-demand release on 1st September (28th August in the UK). The new movie sees Bill and Ted receive a visitor from the future, who tells them that they have 78 minutes to create a song that will save the entire universe, so they hop into their phone booth to get help from famous musicians. The movie also features a new generation of the Logan and Preston families, in the shape of Bill’s daughter Thea and Ted’s daughter Billie, played by Samara Weaving and Brigette Lundy-Paine.

The Bill and Ted Face the Music panel. Photo captured from YouTube.

It’s clear that the cast all had an absolute blast shooting the new movie, and everyone involved with the project is aware of what a huge task it is to revisit a franchise after so long, even those who are too young to have grown up with Bill and Ted. Fans will be pleased to see such reverence from the entire cast and crew towards making a movie that is familiar enough but also brings something new to the table. As Kevin Smith said, “It’s a tall order to head back in, but so worth the effort”.

It’s very obvious from the way that Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter talk that they are hugely fond of playing these characters and wanted to do this sequel right. Keanu Reeves stated how good it was to return to acting alongside Alex Winter, saying, “I can’t feel or laugh or do anything like working on Bill and Ted and working with Alex, that doesn’t exist anywhere else in the world for me”.

Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter talk about bringing Bill and Ted back. Photo captured from YouTube.

For any fans who are worried about revisiting the past, present, and future with Bill and Ted, the franchise seems to be in good hands. It’s in the same hands, actually, with the original writing team of Ed Solomon and Chris Matheson returning to write the script, which is fairly rare in the world of movie franchises. Director Dean Parisot is the man behind what Kevin Smith described as a “perfect movie” in Galaxy Quest, so the caliber of talent behind Bill and Ted Face the Music is very high, but there will still be fans who regard the movie with some trepidation. Kevin Smith seems to think that such trepidation is unnecessary.

“It’s a high bar to head back into classic territory, and whether you want to admit it or not, Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure and Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey are now classic movies,” said Kevin Smith. “But not only did you all execute, you elevated. You made a beautiful motion picture – funny, warm – everything that a movie should be.”

Alex Winter added, “Bill and Ted are f**king back”.