It’s taken multiple decades to happen, but Bill And Ted are finally coming back to the big screen. Alex Winter and Keanu Reeves' legendary duo first made their mark on pop culture back in 1988 with Bill And Ted’s Excellent Adventure, and they returned in 1991 for Bill And Ted’s Bogus Journey, but there has been a long wait since then as gears have turned slowly for filmmakers trying to make a trilogy out of the franchise. Now, finally, the wait is almost over, as Bill And Ted Face The Music is just a couple months from arriving in a theater near you.
But what do we actually know about the upcoming sequel? When is it coming out? Who is making it? What is it about? Who is starring? We have answers for all of those questions and more in this latest edition of our What We Know So Far guides, so continue reading and get the lowdown on everything Bill And Ted Face The Music below.
What Is The Release Date For Bill And Ted Face The Music?
Thanks to global events, the release calendar in 2020 has been all kinds of screwy, as major releases that were initially going to come out in March or April are now coming out in the second half of the year instead. Amidst all of the shuffling, however, one movie that hasn’t needed to change its release schedule is Bill And Ted Face The Music. The film went into production in 2019 targeting an August 21st release date, and those plans haven’t changed.
Is There A Bill And Ted Face The Music Trailer?
As you can see above, the answer to the question of whether or not Bill And Ted Face The Music has an official trailer is “Yes!” With only a couple months left before the film’s theatrical release, Orion Pictures posted the first-look footage from the movie on June 9th (69, dudes!). It’s much shorter than your traditional trailer, which usually clocks in at about two-and-a-half minutes, but it quickly establishes tone and story, and does a great job leaving us excited to see more on the big screen in August.
What Is Bill And Ted Face The Music’s Rating?
For what should be obvious reasons, the MPAA doesn’t provide a rating for a feature until the studio has submitted a cut of the film that it wants to play theatrically – and it seems that Bill And Ted Face The Music is not yet at that stage. Neither the trailer for the movie nor the debut poster features a grading. The previous installments in the series arrived on the big screen back in the late 1980s and early 1990s having been given PG ratings, but the expectation is that Bill And Ted Face The Music will ultimately get a PG-13 because of modern standards.
Who Is Directing Bill And Ted Face The Music?
Director Dean Parisot is a filmmaker well-versed in making movies with cult followings, as he is best known as the director of Galaxy Quest. While he hasn’t directed a feature since Red 2 in 2013, he is making his comeback with Bill And Ted Face The Music. In the last few years, the work he's done has primarily been on the small screen, helming episodes of shows like Justified, Masters of Sex, Grace And Frankie, Santa Clarita Diet and Good Girls, but there are high hopes among fans that Parisot will be able to deliver a Bill And Ted sequel as genuine as his beloved love letter to Star Trek.
What Is Bill And Ted Face The Music About?
The first two Bill And Ted movies notably hinge on one idea introduced in the first scene of Bill And Ted’s Excellent Adventure: that the eponymous protagonists are destined for greatness as rock gods, and eventually become legends who influence universal peace with their music. Unfortunately, Bill And Ted Face The Music picks up with the characters nearly three decades later, and their band Wyld Stallyns is playing next to buffet dinners instead of in packed stadiums. Leaders from the future contact them letting them know that time is running out for them to change the future, and so the two middle-aged losers are forced to come up with a plan.
As seen in the trailer for Bill And Ted Face The Music, it seems that their big idea is to time travel to the future and steal the idea for the greatest song ever written from themselves. They return to their mystical phone booth to get the job done, but naturally, the mission isn’t as easy as it seems.
Who’s Starring In Bill And Ted Face The Music
Obviously Bill And Ted wouldn’t be anything without Bill and Ted, but Bill And Ted Face The Music has really gone the extra mile as far as giving its titular leads some awesome co-stars. There is a great mix of returning characters and newcomers, though we definitely know more about some roles than others.
Ted 'Theodore' Logan (Keanu Reeves)
Keanu Reeves was still an up-and-comer when he first played Ted ‘Theodore’ Logan in Bill And Ted’s Excellent Adventure, and while he’s played a crazy number of iconic roles since then – from Jack Traven in Speed to Neo in The Matrix to John Wick in John Wick – Ted remains a favorite among fans. It’s a character type (the dumb guy) that we haven’t seen from the star in a fair bit of time, so it will be fun to see him return.
Bill S. Preston (Alex Winter)
In the years since the first two Bill and Ted movies, Alex Winter has continued to act, especially in voice roles, but his larger focus has been on his work as a documentary filmmaker. He has most recently been working on Zappa (about the brilliant rock icon Frank Zappa) and Showbiz Kids (about the experience of child actors). Bill And Ted Face The Music will feature his first live-action performance since his small role in the 2013 thriller Grand Piano starring Elijah Wood.
Thea Preston (Samara Weaving)
Samara Weaving turned a lot of heads in 2019 by starring in one of the most wickedly delightful films of the year, Ready Or Not, and soon we will see her back on the big screen playing what should be another excellent role. The Australian actor will be playing Thea Preston in Bill And Ted Face The Music, who is the daughter of Bill, and the namesake of Ted. We first met the character as a baby in Bill And Ted’s Bogus Journey, but now she is all grown up, and from what we have seen, it doesn’t seem like she is tremendously proud of her father’s accomplishments.
Billie Logan (Brigette Lundy-Paine)
Starring opposite Samara Weaving is Brigette Lundy-Paine as Billie Logan – who is Ted’s daughter, and the namesake of Bill. Lundy Paine is best known for her role as Casey Gardner on the ongoing series Atypical, but her resume also includes films like Destin Daniel Cretton's The Glass Castle and Jay Roach's Bombshell.
Death (William Sadler)
Played by William Sadler, Death a.k.a. The Grim Reaper has one of the stranger arcs in Bill And Ted, as he goes from gambling with the heroes for their eternal souls to serving as the bassist for Wyld Stallyns. He’ll be back with the band in Bill And Ted Face The Music, but the extent of his role has not yet been disclosed.
Captain Jonathan Logan (Hal Landon Jr.)
As you can probably tell from the last name, Captain Jonathan Logan is Ted’s father, the San Dimas Police Captain in Bill And Ted’s Excellent Adventure, and it was his threat of sending Ted to military school that motivated a great deal of the plot in the first movie. He has a bit of an attitude adjustment in Bill And Ted’s Bogus Journey due to a change in marital status (more on that in a second), and we’re excited to see what’s been going on in his life with Bill And Ted Face The Music.
Missy (Amy Stoch)
Is there another character in pop culture history who goes from being the stepmom of one protagonist to being the stepmom of the other protagonist? It’s probably fair to say that Amy Stoch’s Missy stands alone with that superlative, which makes for a great gag in Bill And Ted’s Excellent Adventure and Bill And Ted’s Bogus Journey. It’s been confirmed she will be back in Bill And Ted Face The Music, but how her arc will continue has not been revealed.
Princess Joanna Preston (Jayma Mays)
Because everything in the lives of Bill and Ted is strange, the loves of their life weren’t even born in the same century, as the duo notably fell in love with 15th century English princesses in Bill And Ted’s Excellent Adventure. Thanks to some of Rufus’ meddling with time, Bill winds up being with Princess Joanna, and they will apparently still be together in Bill And Ted Face The Music, played by Jayma Mays. Whether or not she is still a part of Wyld Stallyns is unclear.
Princess Elizabeth Logan (Erinn Hayes)
Medical Police/Children’s Hospital star Erinn Hayes will be playing Princess Elizabeth Logan in the movie, who is the wife of Ted and the mother of Billie. Like the case with Princess Joanna, whether or not she is still rocking out with her husband on a regular basis has not yet been confirmed.
Deacon Logan (Beck Bennett)
Bill and Ted fans will remember Deacon as Ted’s annoying younger brother who ditches Napoleon in Bill And Ted’s Excellent Adventure and lets the French general make his way to the local water park. He wasn’t in the first sequel, but he will be back and all grown up in Bill And Ted Face The Music, and played by Saturday Night Live star Beck Bennett. The nature of his role is unclear at present, but hopefully there is at least one scene where he gets in a physical skirmish with his sibling.
The Great Leader (Holland Taylor)
In Bill And Ted’s Excellent Adventure, the Three Most Important People in the World in the future are played by musicians Clarence Clemons (RIP), Martha Davis and Fee Waybill, but in Bill And Ted Face The Music the group will evidently be under new leadership. As seen in the trailer, the new Great Leader will be played by Holland Taylor, who is best known for movies like Romancing The Stone, The Truman Show, Legally Blonde and the Spy Kids sequels.
Is George Carlin’s Rufus Going To Be In Bill And Ted Face The Music?
During his career, George Carlin was better known for his work as a stand-up comedian than being an actor, but he nonetheless created a wonderfully iconic science-fiction character playing the time-traveler Rufus in the first two Bill and Ted movies. He won’t be back in Bill And Ted Face The Music, as Carlin sadly passed away back in 2008, but his absence will be felt in the long-developing sequel. Writer Ed Solomon has confirmed that Rufus not being around will have a significant impact on the story of the second sequel. Doubling down, it has also been confirmed that the film has a character who is played by Kelly Carlin, who is the comedian’s daughter. She confirmed this news in the midst of production in mid-August 2019.
Where Can You Stream Bill And Ted Movies?
If you’ve read all of what’s above and feel like you definitely need to revisit Bill And Ted’s Excellent Adventure and Bill And Ted’s Bogus Journey before seeing Bill And Ted Face The Music on the big screen, the good news is that both of the previous films are currently available online.
Bill And Ted’s Excellent Adventure
If you have a current Starz subscription, or have the Starz add-on for other streaming platforms like Hulu, you can currently watch Bill And Ted’s Excellent Adventure without having to pay any additional money for the privilege. If you don’t currently have access to that particular digital database, the film is available for both rental and purchase at all major retailers.
Bill And Ted’s Bogus Journey
Unfortunately, if you’re hoping that one of your current subscriptions will give you instant access to Bill And Ted’s Bogus Journey you’re going to find that your searches come up empty. The sequel is not currently available on any streaming platform – though like Bill And Ted’s Excellent Adventure, you can find the movie available for rental and/or purchase on a variety of sites.
We’ll continue to update this feature as more information becomes available about Bill And Ted Face The Music, and stay tuned to CinemaBlend for more of our coverage of the film as we get closer and closer to its release date. Also: San Dimas High School football rules!
