BILL & TED FACE THE MUSIC Co-Writer Reveals New Story Details, Character Info, and Maintaining the Sweetness

Bill & Ted Face The Music is actually really going to happen and I couldn't be more excited! We've been hearing about this third Bill and Ted movie for years, and now Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter will actually reunite to embark on a journey to fulfill their destiny. This is the most recent plot summary that was released:

When we last picked up with the most audacious dudes they were time-traveling teenagers trying to pass history class and win the battle of the bands. Once prophesized to save the universe with their rock and roll, according to the production the new movie will see the two best friends as middle-aged men with family responsibilities who have yet to fulfill their destiny. They’ve written thousands of tunes, but they have yet to write a good one, much less the greatest song ever written. With the fabric of time and space tearing around them, a visitor from the future warns the duo that only their music can save life as we know it. Out of luck and inspiration, Bill and Ted set out on another time travel adventure — with the help of their daughters, a new crop of historical figures, and some sympathetic music legends — to seek the song that will set their world right and bring harmony in the universe as we know it.

Now co-writer Ed Solomon has opened up a bit more about the film and while talking to Collider, he shared more details on the story, new characters that will be introduced, and more. This is how Solomon describes the story:

"Bill and Ted were told at 16 that they were going to be the greatest people who ever lived. That they were gonna write a song that is going to save the world, and it hasn’t happened. And now they are middle-aged men. They’ve got wives who used to be princesses in medieval England who are now working double shifts at Denny’s, they’ve got teenagers that are about to leave home, money is tight, and they’ve been chasing this dream, writing song after song, when somebody from the future shows up and says, “You have 24 hours. The fate of all of space/time depends on it – and if it doesn’t happen now, it’s never gonna happen.” Bill and Ted are confused because they know they had to have written it, because after all the people in the future told them they did.. so they just must not have written it yet. So in their desperation they decide their only option is to go into the future – to when the have written it – and to steal it from themselves. What follows is a kind of utterly absurd, Christmas Carol-like journey through their lives past, present, and future. Their daughters (Bill has a daughter named Thea, Ted’s daughter is named Billie) are also very involved in trying to help them."

He goes on to say that the film is a "total comedy", but says that it's also "really, really grounded in the sweetness that is Bill and Ted and the emotion of where they would be at this point in their life." He goes on to say that they aren't looking to rehash the stories that they've already told and they want this next chapter to be unique and appeal to everyone. Solomon explains:

"Well we’re trying to take the same approach here which is to say we’re not reshashing anything—although there’s time travel and some of our favorite people from the movies are in it—we’re trying to really go: it’s been 30 years. Let’s be real about the passage of time. We want to maintain the tone, the sweetness, the absurdity and we want it to be a movie that is not just for fans of the first movie but hopefully for people of any age who haven’t seen the movies. But most importantly, we want it to be something unique – something people haven’t seen before. Also, we think it’s really cool to take characters you last saw as teenagers and explore them again as middle aged men. What would that be like? That was one of the main draws for Chris and me.

"Our hope is that it has a story and adventure that would appeal to anyone, but also under that hopefully themes and humor that would appeal to both kids and adults. But the main thing was we were trying to make ourselves laugh."

He then reveals that the comedy they will be playing with to bring on the laughs won't be cynical and dark like most of today's comedy films. He wants this movie to stand out from the rest. He explains:

"A lot of comedy right now is really cynical. It’s either snarky or self-referential or “meta” or really dark or really negative, and Bill & Ted is none of those. It’s sweet. There’s nothing cynical and there’s nothing snarky in this movie, and if that’s what you like – cynical, dark, malevolent humor – then you’re not gonna like this movie. At a time when there’s just so much negativity everywhere, I feel like this movie is complete counterprogramming to that. And by the way, I don’t just mean negativity in terms of comedy being made, I mean negativity in terms of politics, media, etc. This is going in a very different direction. Bill & Ted’s motto – and essentially the message of the movie – is 'Be excellent to each other,' and 'Party on dudes,' and I think that’s where this movie naturally wants to be. It’s not like we sat down thinking what can we counterprogram, either. This is just who Bill and Ted are. It’s about Bill and Ted trying to keep their Bill and Ted-ness alive (laughs). Chris and I have often said to each other if all we did in our entire careers was put the phrase 'Be excellent to each other' out into the world, we feel like that would not have been such a bad thing."

I love hearing that! It gives me hope that this movie will give us everything that we are hoping for from a third Bill and Ted movie. He adds:

"Look, there’s emotion in it, but I think it’s really ultimately about two of the most joyful characters that I certainly have ever been involved with – characters who have had life hit them hard – and who are able to not just maintain but reinvigorate their joy, their spirit, their – okay, I’m going to say it again – their Bill and Ted-ness."

He then talks about the daughters of Bill and Ted and explains that if this movie works out, the franchise could continue with them in future films. They aren't focused on that right now, though. When asked about the personalities of their kids, he explained:

"They are brilliant and ridiculous and sweet, and we think would be two amazing roles for two young women, up-and-coming comedic talent. There’s a lot of room for really interesting cameos in this one as well, from all sorts of people."

I can't wait to see what cameos they actually include in the film! They hope to start shooting Bill & Ted Face The Music after Keanu Reeves is finished with John Wick Chapter 3. It's so funny that he'll be going from that hardcore badass film to this lighthearted comedy! 

I'm rooting for this film! I'm excited that after all these years they have actually been able to bring it this far and make it happen! Never give up! Never surrender!