Bill & Ted 3 has been in the works for years, and while that prolonged development time isn’t any worse than, say, waiting for a new Pixar sequel, keep in mind that it’s been 25 years since Bill S. Preston, Esquire and Ted Theodore Logan last graced the big screen. Over the last few years, both Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter have assured fans that they’re very much committed to making the sequel once they’ve perfected the script and budget (and cleared their respective schedules). The latest update comes from Winter, who says the duo could reunite later this year or early next year to film Bill & Ted 3 — which definitely sounds like progress, but don’t start holding your breath just yet.

This year marks the 25th anniversary of Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey, the sequel to Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure. As such, while speaking to Winter about his new documentary on music icon Frank Zappa, Forbes asked the actor for an update on Bill & Ted 3. Here’s what Winter had to say:

It’s looking good. This is Hollywood so I don’t believe it’s happening until it’s coming out on VOD but we’re all working on the film everyday at the moment in terms of the pre-prep type work so it’s an active project. Hopefully we’ll be shooting it shortly.

When asked if they were looking to begin filming later this year or early in 2017, Winter said, “Hopefully the former, possibly the latter” — though the latter would seem more likely.

Original Bill & Ted scribes Chris Matheson and Ed Solomon have written the screenplay for the new sequel, and last we heard from Reeves, the pair were revising the story to minimize the budget. According to Winter, that screenplay now seems to be complete:

Of course! We’ve been working on it for, like, six years. We’re knee deep in the script, it’s been written by Chris Matheson and Ed Solomon who wrote the first two, they are fantastic writers, and the script is great. We have a script, we have a director, we have a studio – we’re just trying to nail down a start date.

The director in question is Dean Parisot, who previously helmed Galaxy Quest and Red 2. Winter goes on to confirm that there will be some “interesting” new co-stars, as well as a few familiar faces, though he’s not able to divulge any names right now.

If Bill & Ted 3 really is ready to go, the only thing that stands in the way is scheduling. Parisot is prepping the Dirk Gently BBC miniseries, while Winter is currently working on the Zappa doc Who the F*@% Is Frank Zappa?, which is eyeing a 2017 release.

Reeves is the busiest of the bunch — he’s currently filming John Wick: Chapter Two, which he’ll follow up with Marti Noxon’s directorial debut To the Bone. He’s also part of the impressive ensemble cast for The Modern Ocean, the ambitious drama that marks the studio debut of enigmatic director Shane Carruth. There’s also the rumored Chinese action flick Rally Car, as well as the TV miniseries Rain.

With Reeves’ schedule in mind, 2017 seems more likely. But then again, we’ve gotten our hopes up before. Until then, be excellent to each other.

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