Bill & Ted Face the Music

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Bill & Ted Face the Music is a 2020 American science fiction comedy and the third movie in the Bill & Ted series. Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter return as Bill and Ted, with William Sadler back as Death. The film was directed by Dean Parisot and written by Chris Matheson and Ed Solomon. The boys, now middle-aged, still haven’t written the prophesied song that will unite the world, and reality starts breaking down as time runs out.

Plot in simple terms:
- In the present, Bill and Ted learn from Kelly, the daughter of their late guide Rufus, that they must write and perform a world-saving song by 7:17 p.m. or everything ends.
- They use Rufus’s time-travel phone booth to visit the future and discover their own lives are a mess.
- Kelly teams up with Billie and Thea (Bill and Ted’s daughters) to help, traveling through time to recruit famous musicians—Jimi Hendrix, Louis Armstrong, Mozart, Ling Lun, and a prehistoric drummer named Grom.
- The group faces danger, including a robot named Dennis and trouble in Hell, but Bill and Ted ultimately realize the song must be performed by everyone in history.
- Using a time machine, Kelly, Billie, Thea, and a big gathering of people from all eras help Bill and Ted perform the song. The universe is saved, and history is repaired.

Cast highlights:
- Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter reprise Bill and Ted.
- William Sadler returns as Death.
- Newcomers include Kristen Schaal, Samara Weaving, Jack Haven, Anthony Carrigan, Erinn Hayes, Jayma Mays, Holland Taylor, Kid Cudi, Jillian Bell, and Beck Bennett.

Production and release notes:
- The film was produced by Hammerstone Studios and others, with a budget around $25 million. Filming took place mostly in New Orleans in 2019.
- It was released in theaters and on Premium VOD on August 28, 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic. The running time is 91 minutes.

Reception and box office:
- Bill & Ted Face the Music received generally positive reviews, with praise for the cast and the movie’s spirit. It holds about 82% on Rotten Tomatoes and a Metacritic score around 65.
- It grossed about $6.3 million worldwide, with strong performance on video-on-demand platforms during its release.
- There has been talk among the creators about a possible fourth movie or a Billie & Thea spin-off if audiences stay interested.

Post-credits and legacy:
- The movie features a Rufus hologram in the end and nods to new generations of fans, suggesting the Bill & Ted story might continue in some form if there’s interest.