Alex Winter doesn’t believe that the success of theJohn Wickfranchise paved the way forBill & Ted Face the Music. Keanu Reeves has played John Wick in three installments so far and there’s more on the way for the assassin. The first movie came out and was an unexpected success, while the next two chapters were huge hits, seemingly introducing another phase of Reeves' long career, though he never really went away. But did theJohn Wicksuccess help makeBill & Ted Face the Musica reality?
In a new interview,Alex Winterdiscussed the long journey to gettingBill & Ted Face the Musicinto theaters and homes. The sequel had been talked about for decades and for a while, it looked like it was never going to happen, but not for lack of trying.Bill & Tedcreators Ed Solomon and Chris Matheson already had the story in place, with Keanu Reeves and Winter signed on to return. It just took the studio a long time to warm to the idea, and that was well after the first twoJohn Wickmovies had opened. Winter had this to say when asked about the success of the action franchise onBill & Ted Face the Music.
“It would make sense that that’s the case, but it wasn’t the view from inside. A lot of the false starts and a lot of the troubles we were having with financing were well afterJohn Wick 1had come out and become a huge hit. And, in a way, I was a little apprehensive that it would hurt us because Ted could not be further from John Wick. So anyone thinking, ‘We want more of that thing Keanu’s doing that’s so successful,’ that’s not us at all - in spades. It’s just not. We are the opposite of that. Honestly, from inside, it really felt like it came from the fan base, and I think Keanu feels similarly because we’ve discussed it a lot.”
Keanu Reeves has been one of the world’s favorite actors for decades now. He can seemingly do no wrong and has a massive history of helping people far from where the cameras are rolling. TheJohn Wickfranchise is massive, but one might forget that a rabid fan base was waiting nearly 30 years to seeBill & Ted Face the Music. Before there was a John Wick, there was a Theodore “Ted” Logan of the mightyWyld Stallyns.
The studio was reportedly looking atBill & Ted Face the Musicas a risk. It was going to cost a significant amount of money to produce in order to get it right, even though the budget is nothing compared to other blockbusters out on the market. In the end, according toAlex Winter and Keanu Reeves, it was the fans that made the third installment a reality after pushing for it for so long.
In the end, 2020 has not been what the world expected when the ball dropped back on January 1st. All major movies have been put in limbo or released in unorthodox ways, which is what happened withBill & Ted Face the Music. It was able to open in some select theaters and is available to stream on VOD. The sequel has provided people with an escape, along with an engaging story that could not be further from theJohn Wickfranchise. You can read the rest of the interview with Alex Winter over atThe Hollywood Reporter.
