These days franchises, sequels and reboots are taking over Hollywood. And while most are just cash-grabs, there are a lot of filmmakers who are fighting to create “art” because it’s something they believe in.
Say what you will about the long-gestured second sequel to Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, but both Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter have been dedicated to making it a reality since its inception. Even when Reeves was the biggest star in Hollywood he would openly campaign to return as Ted “Theodore” Logan in a third film.
Shit, there’s been a director attached for several years: Galaxy Quest‘s Dean Parisot.
After traveling through time, and going to both Heaven and Hell, Bill & Ted have yet to transport through dimensional time and space – something that could wrap up this heavy metal comedy franchise. And even with various incarnations of the script, there’s been no serious fan clamoring to see it made. And the financiers behind it clearly don’t have faith in it.
With that said, it’s now or never for Bill & Ted 3.
2015 is all about returning franchises, remakes, reboots, spinoffs, and giant crossovers. And with Keanu Reeves having a career renaissance, thanks to John Wick, 2015 is the year Bill & Ted 3 has to happen.
Winters echoes this sentiment in a new interview with Yahoo! Movies where he basically says it’s do or die for Bill & Ted.
“We’re really close. We’re just about there,” Winter said, before cautioning: “In Hollywood parlance, [that] means we’ll either be shooting soon, or it’s never going to happen.”
His passion is shared when asked if he’s sick of being asked about it:
“We’re trying to get the movie made, so how could we be sick of it? It’s really been us driving the whole thing, me and Keanu and [writers] Chris [Matheson] and Ed [Solomon]. So we’re producing it and we’re actively trying to get it made. We’re not tired of it, but I think for our fans, we are eager to stop talking about and actually shoot the damn thing.”
Picking my favorite between Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure and Bogus Journey is like picking between apples and oranges. And although no sequel will ever compete, it would be a blast to see two failed rockers attempt to save the planet one last time.
Wyld Stallyns for life.