Bill & Ted Face the Music

In 2010, Keanu Reeves indicated that Matheson and Solomon were working on a script for a third film.[16][17] Winter said that the role of Rufus (previously played by the late George Carlin) would not be recast.[18]

In April 2011, Reeves said that a third film was close to happening.[19] On April 24, 2011, Winter tweeted that the script for the third installment had been finished.[20] The plot was suspected to be about Bill and Ted writing a song that could save the world, although in a pre-San Diego Comic-Con International interview, Alex Winter said the storyline may also involve time travel to the prehistoric era, and the film would likely see a cameo by Eddie Van Halen, as well as the return of Socrates and Billy the Kid, who appeared in the first movie.[21]

In August 2012, Dean Parisot was attached to direct.[22] In March 2013, at the SXSW Film Festival, Winter confirmed progress on the film was still moving forward.[23][24]

In August 2013, when asked about a third film, Reeves replied, "There have been a couple of drafts [of a Bill & Ted 3 script] and right now, we're waiting on the writers to come up with another draft. But we're all very excited."[25] In an October 20, 2013 Reddit AMA, Reeves revealed that he has seen the script for Bill & Ted 3, stating, "We are working on trying to get Bill & Ted 3. There's a script and we are trying to put it together."[26]

In a September 2014 interview with Yahoo! Movies, Winter revealed more details on the plot, stating that "[Bill and Ted] will be 40-something and it's all about Bill and Ted grown up, or not grown up". Winter also said that the film would not be a reboot, stating that "it's a Bill & Ted movie, that's what it is. It's for the fans of Bill & Ted. It fits very neatly in the [series]. It's not going to feel like a reboot."[27] On the March 2015 episode of The Jonathan Ross Show, Reeves confirmed that Bill & Ted 3 is still being planned, stating, "Yes, they want to do that. The writers wrote a script, which is a really cool idea and Alex Winter and I—Alex played Bill, I played Ted—so we're trying to get it made".[28]

In April 2016, Alex Winter told Forbes that they have a script, a director and a studio and that there had been a plan to film by early 2017.[29]

Reeves gave an update on the film in February 2017 during an interview on The Graham Norton Show saying the story was written and discussed the plot of the film. "Basically, they're supposed to write a song to save the world, and they haven't done that. The pressure of having to save the world, their marriages are falling apart, their kids are kind of mad at them, and then someone comes from the future and tells them if they don't write the song it's just not the world, it's the universe. So they have to save the universe because time is breaking apart" Reeves said.[30] During the New York City Comic Convention, Reeves revealed that the title will be Bill & Ted Face the Music.[31]

Solomon, speaking to Digital Spy in January 2018, said of the film's long pre-production period:

We have a script that we really are proud of, that we worked very hard on, that we've done many iterations of—and we did it on spec, meaning we spent years working on it because we wanted to get it right, creatively. This is not, 'Hey let's all cash-in on the Bill & Ted thing for money'—this is the opposite. This is, 'We love these characters, they've been with us for our whole lives'—Chris and me, and Alex and Keanu—and we wanted to visit them again as middle-aged men. We thought it would be really fun, and funny, and sweet.

— Ed Solomon[32]

Solomon further said that they have had issues getting financing for the film as those they have approached want to see a reboot of Bill & Ted, rather than a sequel, and had also expressed concerns that since the first film was not distributed internationally, there would not be a large audience for this film.[32] Solomon said that elements of the script would see the middle-aged Bill & Ted revisiting events of the first film, such as watching their interactions outside of the Circle K. Solomon confirmed that they have Steven Soderbergh aboard for production of the film,[32] along with Scott Kroopf, who produced the original films.[33]

Further developments on Face the Music began in May 2018, with the film formally greenlit on May 8, 2018.[34] On February 6, 2019, Production Weekly listed production on Face the Music as slated to start on March 5 of that year.[35][36]

The United States distribution will be handled by MGM under their Orion Pictures label. The international distribution rights were made during the 2018 Cannes Film Festival, with Bloom Media negotiating these rights.[37][38] MGM will handle most international distribution, while Warner Bros. will handle distribution in the United Kingdom. Other distribution will be handled by Madman in Australia, Paradise in Russia and Ukraine, and Pioneer in the Philippines.[1]

On March 20, 2019, Winter and Reeves affirmed that the film's production was ready to start, and that they had secured a release date on August 21, 2020. The film will be produced by Hammerstone Studios and distributed by Orion Pictures under its United Artists banner in the United States.[39]

Both Winter and Reeves were confirmed to be in the movie once it was greenlit in May 2018.[34] William Sadler was confirmed to be reprising his role as the Grim Reaper from the second film in March 2019.[40] Brigette Lundy-Paine and Samara Weaving will appear as Ted's daughter Billie Logan and Bill's daughter Thea Preston, respectively.[41] Kid Cudi was also announced as a cast member for the film, playing himself as he gets caught up in the events of the film.[42][7] Anthony Carrigan was cast in June 2019 as Bill & Ted's yet-named adversary in the film.[43]

In late June 2019, it was announced that Amy Stoch will be returning as Missy, and Hal Landon, Jr. will be returning as Ted's father, Captain Logan. Other casting announcements include recasts of characters from previous films, with Erinn Hayes as Elizabeth, Jayma Mays as Joanna, and Beck Bennet as Deacon, Ted's younger brother.[9][10] Among casting announcements in July 2019 include Jillian Bell as Dr. Taylor Wood, the family therapist to both Bill and Ted's families,[8] Holland Taylor as the Great Leader in the future San Dimas,[11] and Kristen Schaal as Kelly, a messenger sent from the future for Bill & Ted.[13]

Also in June 2019, Backstage listed a casting call for extras to appear as various historical figures.[44] With help from Jake Tapper, a number of veterans supported by the Wounded Warrior Project were also featured as extras during filming.[45]

Initial production and filming started on June 17, 2019,[46][39] while cast filming commenced on July 1, 2019.[47] The bulk of the filming took place in New Orleans during July 2019.[48][43] Filming was completed by August 24, 2019.[49]

Bonita Unified School District in Los Angeles County, California, which serves the cities of San Dimas and La Verne where the real-life San Dimas High School is located, has opened its doors to allow production to use the school on camera, although most of the actual filming in San Dimas for the first film was in a school in Arizona.[50]

At least one song for the film's soundtrack will be written and performed by Mastodon.[51]

Winter stated in a February 2020 interview that they had completed a "fantastic first cut" but were still working on visual effects and music, along with additional filming such as with Kid Cudi a few days prior.[52]