William Sadler has enjoyed a successful career as a recognizable character actor. He’s had key supporting roles in the likes of The Shawshank Redemption, RocketMan, Kinsey, The Green Mile, August Rush, and Iron Man 3. More recently, he’s been spending a lot of time on television in shows like Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD, Power, Berlin Station, and Our Cartoon President. But he’s about to go back to one of his most famous roles from nearly 30 years ago, and we’re not talking about Die Hard 2.
The long-anticipated Bill and Ted Face the Music recently announced the start of production later this year with an eye towards hitting theaters in 2020. We’ve known Alex Winter and Keanu Reeves would be back as William “Bill” S. Preston Esq. and Theodore “Ted” Logan for a long time, and now we know they’ll have company from at least one of the characters from their past. William Sadler will be back as Death.
Death played a key role in Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey after two robots from the future were sent back in time to kill Bill and Ted in order to stop them from winning a battle of the bands and eventually creating global harmony with their music. The robots succeeded, sending Bill and Ted to meet Death, played by William Sadler.
Initially, Death offered them the chance to play a game for their souls. But he ended up on the wrong end of a “melvin” when the two tried to escape and tell their families about the evil robots that have replaced them. Of course, they inevitably had to accept Death’s offer, since it sounds a lot better than being tortured by Satan in Hell. Perhaps not so surprisingly, Bill and Ted beat Death in games of Battleship, Clue, Electronic Football, and Twister, so he had no choice but to help them figure out how to stop their robot replacements.
We’re not sure how big of a role William Sadler will have as Death in Bill and Ted Face the Music, especially since there’s likely a big ensemble of characters that Bill and Ted will meet, just as in the first two movies. But we’re just glad Sadler is game to have some fun with Alex Winter and Keanu Reeves again after all these years.
Following 1989’s Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure and 1991’s Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey, the stakes are higher than ever for William “Bill” S. Preston Esq. (Alex Winter) and Theodore “Ted” Logan (Keanu Reeves). Yet to fulfill their rock and roll destiny, the now middle-aged best friends set out on a new adventure, when a visitor from the future warns them that only their song can save life as we know it and bring harmony to the universe. Along the way, they will be helped by their families, old friends and a few music legends.
Bill and Ted Face the Music is slated to rock theaters on August 21, 2020.