Vents MagaZine Music and Entertainment Magazine
Related Articles
In a move that ultimately didn’t come as much of a surprise, Orion Pictures, the studio distributing the third entry in the “Bill and Ted” series (which began with the 1989 most-excellent lark, Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure) announced today that they would be adjusting the release of their highly anticipated film. Per our buddies over at The Hollywood Reporter, Bill and Ted Face the Music will eschew its long planned theatrical release in favor of a September 1 debut on Video on Demand along with select theater openings. The latter is expected to be a minimal piece of the ultimate financial pie because of the raging global pandemic that has upended all facets of entertainment and which has forced many movie theaters around the globe to close and shutter their doors.
The continuing adventures of Theodore “Ted” Logan and William “Bill” S. Preston, Esq. takes place nearly thirty years after the events of the second film in the series, 1991’s Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey. In this entry the fellow Wyld Stallyns are now married and have teenage daughters (hey, anyone besides this intrepid hack suddenly feel quite old?) when a mysterious visitor from the future reveals to the two broheims that one of their songs can rescue all life and restore balance and harmony to the known universe. So what’s a pair of time-travelling buds to do other than saddle up with their respective offspring and get about the business of making the world – present and future – tasty and most bodacious.
In the pipeline for years, Bill & Ted Face the Music was originally intended to open exclusively in theaters on August 21. Due to the pandemic, the film had subsequently played a high stakes game of “chicken” with the current world situation with middling results: Orion waffled on the original August date several different times before finally settling today on this new and hopefully safer approach to a release, citing that a one-size-fits-all modus operandi (i.e. a strictly theatrical exhibition) would just not cut it in an era where many folks are plain weary of attending any indoor events such as movies, concerts and sports.
The VOD option for the new Bill & Ted seems almost apt, at least in limited hindsight; while the films in the series are family friendly, there’s a subtle stoner quality to them that also lends itself to the stay at home in your pajamas crowd while imbibing Cheetos, copious amounts of Yoo-Hoo (the Cadillac of flavored chocolate drinks) and other various and sundry items. AHEM.
Bill & Ted Face the Music is just the latest in a long string of Hollywood productions that have been forced by the pandemic to ply their wares via the boob tube. Other VOD films that at one time had been slapped with theatrical releases include: Trolls World Tour, Just Mercy, Onward, Downhill, King of Staten Island, Never Rarely Sometimes Always, Endings, Beginnings, To the Stars, Impractical Jokers: The Movie, Artemis Fowl, The Infiltrators, Working Man, Jump Shot: The Kenny Sailors Story, Scoob, The High Note, Waiting for the Barbarians, Irresistible, My Spy, The One and Only Ivan, The Secret Garden, Miss Juneteenth, You Should Have Left, Da 5 Bloods, Capone, How to Build a Girl, Lovebirds, Resistance, Greyhound.
Other films such as blockbuster tent-poles as Wonder Woman 1984, Halloween Kills, Mulan and Tenet have taken a cautious “wait and see” approach about release, with dates for all four repeatedly pushed back and delayed. It is likely that these films in particular might be a part of a so-called “staggered” release; opening in other parts of the world before moving on to a United States premiere due to the severity in certain parts of the country of the corona virus. Welcome to the new normal, folks.
A new trailer for Bill & Ted Face the Music was timed to drop today along with the announcement of a straight to VOD release. You can check that out here. Meanwhile, get the popcorn ready for that return trip to San Dimas, California as we gear up to rock out once again with Bill, Ted and a most excellent telephone booth.
