Bill & Ted (franchise)
Encyclopedia
Bill & Ted is a series of two films (and their spin-offs) featuring Ted Theodore Logan (Keanu Reeves
) and Bill S. Preston Esq. (Alex Winter
) as two metalhead slackers
who travel through time
. The first Bill & Ted film, Excellent Adventure
, was released on February 17, 1989, followed two years later by Bogus Journey
. A third film, currently untitled, is expected to be released in 2013. Usually starring Reeves and Winter, Christopher Kennedy played Bill and Evan Richards played Ted in the 1992 version of Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventures
.
. In this movie, it is also revealed that Bill and Ted are in a band called the Wyld Stallyns.
Winter has stated that the role of Rufus (previously played by the late George Carlin
) would not be recast.
In April 2011, Reeves stated that a third film was close to happening. On April 24, 2011, Winter tweeted that the script for the third installment had been finished.
The plot is suspected to be about Bill and Ted writing a song that could save the world, though in a pre-San Diego Comic-Con International interview Alex Winter
stated the storyline may also involve time travel to the prehistoric era and the film would likely see a cameo by Eddie Van Halen
as well as the return of popular characters Socrates
and Billy the Kid
from the first movie.
, with none of the original cast.
.
by Evan Dorkin
and produced by Marvel Comics
.
, NES and Atari Lynx games released, which were very loosely based on the film's plot. A PC title and nearly identical Amiga
and Commodore 64
port were made in 1991 by Off the Wall Productions
and IntraCorp, Inc. under contract by Capstone Software
and followed the original film very closely.
. It was released by Capstone
for DOS
, Commodore 64
, and Amiga
systems in 1990
-puzzle game loosely based on Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure
video game based on Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure that was released in North America by LJN
for the Nintendo Entertainment System
.
Keanu Reeves
Keanu Charles Reeves is a Canadian actor. Reeves is perhaps best known for his roles in Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, Speed, Point Break and the science fiction-action trilogy The Matrix...
) and Bill S. Preston Esq. (Alex Winter
Alex Winter
Alexander Ross "Alex" Winter is an English-born American actor, film director, and film writer, best known for his role as Bill S. Preston Esq. in the 1989 film Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure and its 1991 sequel Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey...
) as two metalhead slackers
Slackers
Slackers is a 2002 romantic comedy film directed by Dewey Nicks and stars Jason Schwartzman, Devon Sawa, Jason Segel, and Michael Maronna.-Plot:...
who travel through time
Time travel
Time travel is the concept of moving between different points in time in a manner analogous to moving between different points in space. Time travel could hypothetically involve moving backward in time to a moment earlier than the starting point, or forward to the future of that point without the...
. The first Bill & Ted film, Excellent Adventure
Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure
Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure is a 1989 American science fiction–comedy buddy film and the first film in the Bill & Ted franchise in which two metalhead slackers travel through time to assemble a menagerie of historical figures for their high school history presentation.The film was written by...
, was released on February 17, 1989, followed two years later by Bogus Journey
Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey
Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey is a 1991 American science fiction comedy film, and the directing debut of Peter Hewitt. It is the second film in the Bill & Ted franchise, and a sequel to Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure . Keanu Reeves, Alex Winter and George Carlin reprise their respective roles...
. A third film, currently untitled, is expected to be released in 2013. Usually starring Reeves and Winter, Christopher Kennedy played Bill and Evan Richards played Ted in the 1992 version of Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventures
Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventures (1992 TV series)
Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventures is a live action spin-off following the misadventures of two time-traveling slackers as they travel into the distant past and future...
.
Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989)
Excellent Adventure introduces Bill Preston and Ted Logan who are trying to write a history report, and encounter a traveler from the future who gives them access to a time machine (shaped like a telephone booth) which allows them to travel back in time and where they meet historical figures and learn about key historical events. If Bill and Ted fail to pass, their teacher will have to flunk them and Ted's father will transfer him to an Alaskan military academyMilitary academy
A military academy or service academy is an educational institution which prepares candidates for service in the officer corps of the army, the navy, air force or coast guard, which normally provides education in a service environment, the exact definition depending on the country concerned.Three...
. In this movie, it is also revealed that Bill and Ted are in a band called the Wyld Stallyns.
Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey (1991)
Bogus Journey sees Bill and Ted being killed by robot doubles who capture their fiancées, and their attempts to get back from the afterlife by challenging the Grim Reaper to a series of games. Bill and Ted (along with the Grim Reaper) eventually return to present-day Earth just prior to the Wyld Stallyns' performance at the Battle of the Bands, which takes place later that night.Third film (2013)
In 2010, Reeves indicated that Matheson and Solomon were working on a script for a third film.Winter has stated that the role of Rufus (previously played by the late George Carlin
George Carlin
George Denis Patrick Carlin was an American stand-up comedian, social critic, actor and author, who won five Grammy Awards for his comedy albums....
) would not be recast.
In April 2011, Reeves stated that a third film was close to happening. On April 24, 2011, Winter tweeted that the script for the third installment had been finished.
The plot is suspected to be about Bill and Ted writing a song that could save the world, though in a pre-San Diego Comic-Con International interview Alex Winter
Alex Winter
Alexander Ross "Alex" Winter is an English-born American actor, film director, and film writer, best known for his role as Bill S. Preston Esq. in the 1989 film Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure and its 1991 sequel Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey...
stated the storyline may also involve time travel to the prehistoric era and the film would likely see a cameo by Eddie Van Halen
Eddie Van Halen
Edward Lodewijk "Eddie" Van Halen is a Dutch-American guitarist, keyboardist, songwriter and producer, best known as the lead guitarist and co-founder of the hard rock band Van Halen, inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame...
as well as the return of popular characters Socrates
Socrates
Socrates was a classical Greek Athenian philosopher. Credited as one of the founders of Western philosophy, he is an enigmatic figure known chiefly through the accounts of later classical writers, especially the writings of his students Plato and Xenophon, and the plays of his contemporary ...
and Billy the Kid
Billy the Kid
William H. Bonney William H. Bonney William H. Bonney (born William Henry McCarty, Jr. est. November 23, 1859 – c. July 14, 1881, better known as Billy the Kid but also known as Henry Antrim, was a 19th-century American gunman who participated in the Lincoln County War and became a frontier...
from the first movie.
Animated
The first season was produced by Hanna-Barbera and ran for 13 episodes on CBS in 1990, featured the voices of Carlin, Winter, and Reeves returning to their roles in the film. A second season of eight episodes ran on Fox Kids and was produced by DIC EntertainmentDiC Entertainment
DIC Entertainment was an international film and television production company. In addition to animated television shows such as Ulysses 31 , Inspector Gadget , The Littles , The Real Ghostbusters , Captain Planet and the Planeteers , and the first two seasons of the English adaptation of...
, with none of the original cast.
Live action
A later live-action series, featuring none of the cast from the film, included Evan Richards as Bill and Christopher Kennedy as Ted (who also voiced the same roles from the animated season produced by Dic). This version aired seven episodes in 1992 on FoxFox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
.
Comics
A one-shot comic book adaptation of the sequel was published to coincide with the second film's release. Its popularity led to the series Bill and Ted's Excellent Comic BookBill and Ted's Excellent Comic Book
Bill & Ted's Excellent Comic Book was a twelve-issue comic book series published in 1991 and based on the Bill & Ted franchise.-Plot:The first two issues revolve around the efforts of Bill and Ted as they plan a party to celebrate their recent nuptials...
by Evan Dorkin
Evan Dorkin
Evan Dorkin is an American comics artist and writer. His best known works are the comic books Milk and Cheese and Dork...
and produced by Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
.
Cereal
A cereal based on the cartoon adaptation. It was made by the now-defunct Ralston Purina. It was short-lived, like the cartoon, and it included many giveaways and promotions.Musical
A musical based on the film was produced in 1998 called Bill and Ted's Excellent Musical Adventure.Computer games
There were also Game BoyBill & Ted's Excellent Game Boy Adventure
Bill & Ted's Excellent Game Boy Adventure: A Bogus Journey! is an action-puzzle game that is part of the Bill & Ted franchise and is loosely based on the film Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure released by LJN for the Game Boy in ....
, NES and Atari Lynx games released, which were very loosely based on the film's plot. A PC title and nearly identical Amiga
Amiga
The Amiga is a family of personal computers that was sold by Commodore in the 1980s and 1990s. The first model was launched in 1985 as a high-end home computer and became popular for its graphical, audio and multi-tasking abilities...
and Commodore 64
Commodore 64
The Commodore 64 is an 8-bit home computer introduced by Commodore International in January 1982.Volume production started in the spring of 1982, with machines being released on to the market in August at a price of US$595...
port were made in 1991 by Off the Wall Productions
Off the Wall Productions
Off the Wall Productions is a professional theatre company located in Washington, Pennsylvania. Established in 2007 under Artistic Director Virginia Wall Gruenert and Managing Director Hans Gruenert, the theatre's mission is to "enrich, enliven, educate and entertain our audiences, to be...
and IntraCorp, Inc. under contract by Capstone Software
Capstone Software
Capstone Software was a subsidiary of IntraCorp, a Miami, Florida-based computer and video game company. Founded in 1984, Capstone created first-person games such as Corridor 7: Alien Invasion, William Shatner's TekWar and Witchaven, and is also known for releasing games based on movie/TV...
and followed the original film very closely.
PC game
A single player graphic adventure PC game based on the 1989 film Bill & Ted's Excellent AdventureBill & Ted's Excellent Adventure
Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure is a 1989 American science fiction–comedy buddy film and the first film in the Bill & Ted franchise in which two metalhead slackers travel through time to assemble a menagerie of historical figures for their high school history presentation.The film was written by...
. It was released by Capstone
Capstone
Capstone may refer to:* Coping , one of the finishing or protective stones that form the top of an exterior masonry wall or building* Capstone , a US government project about cryptographic standards...
for DOS
DOS
DOS, short for "Disk Operating System", is an acronym for several closely related operating systems that dominated the IBM PC compatible market between 1981 and 1995, or until about 2000 if one includes the partially DOS-based Microsoft Windows versions 95, 98, and Millennium Edition.Related...
, Commodore 64
Commodore 64
The Commodore 64 is an 8-bit home computer introduced by Commodore International in January 1982.Volume production started in the spring of 1982, with machines being released on to the market in August at a price of US$595...
, and Amiga
Amiga
The Amiga is a family of personal computers that was sold by Commodore in the 1980s and 1990s. The first model was launched in 1985 as a high-end home computer and became popular for its graphical, audio and multi-tasking abilities...
systems in 1990
Game Boy Adventure
An actionAction game
Action game is a video game genre that emphasizes physical challenges, including hand–eye coordination and reaction-time. The genre includes diverse subgenres such as fighting games, shooter games, and platform games, which are widely considered the most important action games, though some...
-puzzle game loosely based on Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure
Atari Lynx
A video game for the Atari Lynx handheld based on the Bill & Ted films and the Saturday morning cartoon.NES
An action-adventureAction-adventure game
An action-adventure game is a video game that combines elements of the adventure game genre with various action game elements. It is perhaps the broadest and most diverse genre in gaming, and can include many games which might better be categorized under narrow genres...
video game based on Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure that was released in North America by LJN
LJN
LJN was an American toy company and video game publisher. It created toy lines and video games based on movies, television shows, and celebrities. It was headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, and later in Lyndhurst, New Jersey.-Founding:...
for the Nintendo Entertainment System
Nintendo Entertainment System
The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...
.