Bill and Ted are back! That is what we are hearing today as the Ed Solomon and Chris Matheson-written script has finally landed a director in the form of Dean Parisot. A veteran of the industry, his credits include television shows like Modern Family and Justified, but also the much-anticipated sequel to Red which is slated to come out next year. Parisot’s most recent film was 1999′s Galaxy Quest which was incredibly well-received.
While Vulture states that Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter are both attached to reprise their roles as the title characters, it would appear this is still far from a done deal as there is no major studio willing to back them just yet. MGM is reportedly looking for a partner on this one at the moment.
There may be good thoughts about this franchise, but in reality it is a behind-the-times comedy (no pun intended) that failed to bank much beyond $40 million in its day. The concept was designed for younger audiences who have all grown up so a sequel bump would be largely improbable, making any chance at striking box office gold relatively far-fetched. It more likely will go down as a situation where the franchise needs to start all over again.
Further details on this project are scarce, but seeing how Parisot is behind the camera it would certainly appear that things will not start moving on this until 2013 at the earliest. Best case scenario, 2014 would be the release date as this mid-budget offering in the genre definitely will not need a lengthy time in the production stages.