Bill & Ted is an American science fiction comedy franchise created by Chris Matheson and Ed Solomon. It features William "Bill" S. Preston Esq. and Ted "Theodore" Logan, portrayed by Alex Winter and Keanu Reeves, respectively, two metalhead slacker friends who travel through time and beyond while trying to fulfill their destiny to establish a utopian society in the universe with their music. The series spans a film trilogy: Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989), Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey (1991), and Bill & Ted Face the Music (2020). The series has been mainly produced by Scott Kroopf.
There have been numerous spin-offs, including an animated television series (with Winter and Reeves reprising their roles), a live-action television series in 1992, video games and comic books. Originally released by Orion Pictures and produced by Nelson Entertainment and Interscope Communications, ownership moved to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer following the purchase of PolyGram Filmed Entertainment's pre-April 1996 library in October 1998, and MGM has been the main licensee and distributor since. The series has grossed $85 million and received generally positive reviews from critics.
Setting The series follows the pair of William "Bill" S. Preston Esq. (Alex Winter) and Ted "Theodore" Logan (Keanu Reeves), initially two teenagers living in San Dimas, California in 1988. They want to make their rock band "Wyld Stallyns" successful, but their ambitions and lackadaisical attitudes leave them close to flunking out of high school and threatening to split the band up forever. Unbeknownst to them, their music will form the basis of a utopian society in the future. The leaders of this society send Rufus (George Carlin) to help Bill & Ted pass school and assure the future with the aid of a time machine, which appears as a phone booth. Later films focus on attempts by others to break up Bill & Ted so that their music will never lead to a utopian future.
Films Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989)
Excellent Adventure introduces Bill and Ted who are trying to write a history report. Rufus, a guide from the year 2688, arrives to provide them the time machine which allows them to travel back in time and meet historical figures in order to 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 high school, which will lead to Wyld Stallyns never forming, in turn destroying a Utopian future built around their music.
Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey (1991)
In Bogus Journey, Chuck De Nomolos, a resident of the utopia, is sick of it and sends a pair of Bill & Ted robot doubles back into the past to kill Bill and Ted and make a future based on his ideals. Bill & Ted are killed, face the Grim Reaper, and manage to beat him at several games. This gives them the opportunity to find allies to stop their robot doubles and De Nomolos before an upcoming Battle of the Bands where they must also rescue the princesses to whom they are engaged and start their musical careers.
Bill & Ted Face the Music (2020)
Bill and Ted are now middle-aged parents, yet to realize the music that the future Utopian society will follow. They are warned by the Great Leader and Rufus's daughter Kelly from the future that they have only a short time in their present to create the great song or reality will collapse. Bill and Ted decide to travel to their future to try to find their song but are hunted by a time-travelling robot. Kelly warns their teenage daughters, Billie and Thea, about their plight, and the two go off into the past to help create a band to make the great song for their fathers in time.
Future Shortly before the release of Face the Music, Winter and Reeves discussed the possibility of a fourth Bill & Ted movie, the latter telling Rachel Smith of Entertainment Tonight that it would be "up to the fans". When asked in an interview with DiscussingFilm in August 2020 if the characters of Billie and Thea could result in a sequel or spin-off film, writer Ed Solomon stated, "It wasn't when we were first writing it, but as we saw Brigette and Samara inhabit these roles, I thought for sure if there was interest and people wanted to carry this forward, the Bill & Ted spirit, I would absolutely let those characters carry it forward. I think we've finished with the Alex and Keanu Bill & Ted story. I think it's done, but if people were interested in a Billie & Thea continuation, I think it'd be cool."
Television
Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventures (1990–1991)
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 Entertainment, with none of the original cast.
Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventures (1992)
A later live-action series, featuring none of the cast from the films, included Christopher Kennedy as Bill and Evan Richards as Ted (who also voiced the same roles in the animated season produced by DIC). This version aired seven episodes in 1992 on Fox. William Sadler additionally reprised his role as the Grim Reaper in "The Assassin", a 1994 episode of Tales from the Crypt.
Cast and crew Cast An indicates an appearance through previously recorded material. A indicates the actor or actress was uncredited for their role. A indicates a performance through voice-work. A indicates an actor portrayed a younger version of their character. Character Films Animated series Television series Bill & Ted'sExcellent Adventure Bill & Ted'sBogus Journey Bill & TedFace the Music Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventures Bill & Ted'sExcellent Adventures Season 1 Season 2 Bill S Preston, Esquire Alex Winter Alex Winter Alex Winter Alex Winter Evan Richards Evan Richards William Throne Ted "Theodore" Logan Keanu Reeves Keanu Reeves Keanu Reeves Keanu Reeves Christopher Kennedy Christopher Kennedy Brendan Ryan Rufus George Carlin George Carlin George Carlin Rick Overton Rick Overton Piotr Michael Captain Logan Hal Landon Jr. Peter Renaday rowspan="2" Matt Landers Missy Amy Stoch Kimmy Robertson Lisa Wilcox Princess Joanna Preston Kimberley Kates Sarah Trigger Jayma Mays Kath Soucie Princess Elizabeth Logan Diane Franklin Annette Azcuy Erinn Hayes Mr. Preston J. Patrick McNamara Don Lake Don Lake Deacon Logan Frazier Bain Beck Bennett Danny Cooksey Mr. Ryan Bernie Casey Bernie Casey Napoleon Bonaparte Terry Camilleri Billy the Kid Dan Shor Socrates Tony Steedman Abraham Lincoln Robert V. Barron Sigmund Freud Rod Loomis Genghis Khan Al Leong Joan of Arc Jane Wiedlin Ludwig van Beethoven Clifford David Death William Sadler Evil Robot Bill Alex Winter Evil Robot Ted Keanu Reeves Station Ed Gale & Gil Arturo rowspan="4" Tom Allard Frank Welker Tony Cox Chuck De Nomolos Joss Ackland Colonel Oats Chelcie Ross Thomas Edison Hal Landon Sr. Albert Einstein John Ehrin Arte Johnson Theodora "Thea" Preston Candace Mead Samara Weaving Wilhelmina "Billie" Logan Lauren Mead Jack Haven The Great Leader Holland Taylor Kelly Kristen Schaal Dennis Caleb McCoy Anthony Carrigan Kid Cudi Himself Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Daniel Dorr Kath Soucie Babe Ruth Reece Loustalot rowspan="2" George Washington William Harris Jimi Hendrix DazMann Still Louis Armstrong Jeremiah Craft Ling Lun Sharon Gee Grom Patty Anne Miller Note: A gray cell indicates character did not appear in that medium.
Crew Occupation Films Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey Bill & Ted Face the Music Director(s) Stephen Herek Pete Hewitt Dean Parisot Writers Chris Matheson & Ed Solomon Producer(s) Scott Kroopf,Michael S. Murphey,and Joel Soisson Scott Kroopf Scott Kroopf, Alex Lebovici,David Haring, Steve Ponce,Ed Solomon, and Alex Winter Composer(s) David Newman Mark Isham Editor(s) Larry BockPatrick Rand David Finfer Don Zimmerman Cinematographer(s) Tim Suhrstedt Oliver Wood Shelly Johnson
Reception Box office performance Film Release date Box office gross Budget North America Other territories Worldwide Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure February 17, 1989 $40,485,039 $23,955 $40,508,994 $10 million Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey July 19, 1991 $38,037,513 $2,337 $38,039,850 $20 million Bill & Ted Face the Music August 28, 2020 $3,439,660 $2,834,367 $6,274,027 $25 million Total $ $ $ $55 million
Critical and public response + Critical and public response of Bill & Ted films Film Critical Public Rotten Tomatoes Metacritic CinemaScore Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure 83% (58 reviews) 50 (16 reviews) Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey 56% (54 reviews) 61 (10 reviews) B+ Bill & Ted Face the Music 83% (265 reviews) 65 (41 reviews)
Other media Comics
DC Comics produced a tie-in comic following the plot of the first movie timed to coincide with that film's release on home video. The sequel was adapted by DC's competitor Marvel Comics, published to coincide with the second film's release in theaters. Its popularity led to the ongoing Marvel series Bill & Ted's Excellent Comic Book by Evan Dorkin, which lasted for 12 issues.
There was a weekly 2/4 page semi-adaptation of the animated series published for a year by UK's defunct Look-In Magazine from 1991 to 1992.
In 2015, Boom! Comics revived the franchise in comic form with the six issue miniseries, Bill & Ted's Most Triumphant Return, followed by a trade paperback collection of the Marvel Comics releases, Bill & Ted's Excellent Comic Book: Archive (2016). The success of the miniseries led to two additional miniseries: the four issue Bill & Ted Go to Hell (2016) and the five issue Bill & Ted Save the Universe (2017).
As an official prequel to the third movie, Dark Horse Comics released the four issue miniseries Bill & Ted are Doomed (2020).
Cereal
A cereal based on the animated series adaptation. It was made by the 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.
A second musical, Bill & Ted's Most Excellent Rock Opera, is being developed by screenwriter Chris Matheson with plans for premiering in 2027.
Video games There were also Game Boy, 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.
Home computer
A single player graphic adventure PC game based on the 1989 film Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure. It was released by Capstone for MS-DOS, Commodore 64, and Amiga systems in 1989.
Atari Lynx
A video game for the Atari Lynx handheld based on the Bill & Ted films and the Saturday morning cartoon.
NES
An action-adventure video game based on Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure that was released in North America by LJN for the Nintendo Entertainment System.
Game Boy
An action-puzzle game loosely based on Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure.
Mobile Wyld Stallyns is an action-RPG video game based on the Bill & Ted universe was released by Built Games in 2018 for iOS and Android devices.
Halloween Horror Nights Bill & Ted also featured in an annual live-action show at Universal Studios Florida and Universal Studios Hollywood during Halloween Horror Nights. Typically the show parodied the past year's worth of notable pop culture events, featuring locally cast performers as the title characters.
In 2013, the Universal Studios Hollywood Bill and Ted's Excellent Halloween Adventure show was cancelled following allegations by Jamie Lee Curtis Taete from Vice of homophobia and racism in that year's show. The show continued at Universal Studios Florida, until 2017.
Notes and references