Earlier this summer, the 1991 sequel Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey celebrated its 25th anniversary, with Shout! Factory releasing new Blu-ray editions of this and the original Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure later this month. Last year, we learned that the first Bill & Ted movie almost featured a time travelling van and a dog, but now we have details about the sequel, revealing what the original ending was before it was changed. There has always been evidence of a much different ending out there, but now director Peter Hewitt tells all in a new interview.
Bloody-Disgusting caught up with both Peter Hewitt and actor William Sadler at the Bruce Campbell Horror Film Festival. William Sadler played the Grim Reaper in a beloved, breakthrough performance. The story followed Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter's title characters, who must defeat evil robots sent from the future to prevent them from winning the Battle of the Bands. The script was originally entitled Bill & Ted Go to Hell, and the site points out that movie trailers, trading cards and a comic book for the movie hinted at a scene where creatures from Hell attack Bill & Ted on Earth. When asked about whether this scene existed or not, Peter Hewitt had this to say.
"It wasn't a scene, it was the entire ending of the movie. It was a different ending. Evil Bill and Ted open their chests and out come these strange cylinders that start to bubble and turn into something. Then, Bill and Ted arrive at the auditorium, the Battle of the Bands, and then their worst fears incarnate arrive. So, a giant easter bunny arrives and attacks them, granny arrives, Colonel Oats attacks them, and then I can't remember..."
The director confirmed that Alex Winter's Bill and Keanu Reeves' Ted do make it back for the Battle of the Bands in this original ending. Bloody-Disgusting also found a number of photos from this scene revealing some of the hell spawn who come to Earth. Peter Hewitt clarified that the ending was changed because it did not test well with audiences.
"But then the ending...we tested it, cause the film was shot really quickly and then came out a couple of months later; suddenly it was like we're six weeks from opening and needed a new ending. So, the whole ending of Bill and Ted building 'Good' robots to defeat the 'Bad' robots, that was a new ending; and all the concert stuff was new. Death was in it, but by that time we were finding anything and everything for you [talking to William Sadler] to do."
Peter Hewitt didn't take part in any commentary tracks on the new Shout! Factory Blu-ray, so we may not get more insight into this original ending of Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey. It's possible that this ending could eventually find its way onto another home video release, perhaps the 30th Anniversary, but we don't know for sure. Take a look at the full video interview with Peter Hewitt and William Sadler below, along with photos from these deleted scenes.
