Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure Almost Had a Different Title That Would Have Changed the Movie

Over the years, Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure has become one of the most iconic slacker comedies of all time, spawning an entire franchise and entertaining generations of fans. However, the original version of Chris Matheson and Ed Solomon‘s script featured a much different title for the film, one that would’ve changed a couple of key components of the story. It’s hard to think of Excellent Adventure as potentially anything else, but it almost happened. The film was initially titled Bill and Ted’s Astounding Time Van.

As we all now know, the characters played by Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter travelled through time to get information about historical figures to help them pass their final history assignment. They wind up meeting George Carlin’s Rufus, who informs them that they eventually save the world and are praised as heroes far into the future. But since they can’t accomplish those things without first passing high school, he sends them on their mission through time using his phone booth time machine.

In this original version of the script, the van was at the center of the action, taking over for the now-beloved phone booth. Overall, that wouldn’t have changed a ton about the actual story, but it still would’ve made for a much different take on time travelling.

Solomon, who co-wrote the entire Bill and Ted franchise, shared a couple of pictures of the original script on Twitter over the weekend. He said that he found the script in a box, giving fans a glimpse at it for the first time. He shared four pictures in all, the first of which you can see above.

Solomon and Matheson also wrote the third movie in the series, Bill & Ted Face the Music, which will be released on-demand and in select theaters later this month. Reeves and Winter reprise their iconic roles for the comedy threequel, and they’re joined by the likes of Samara Weaving, Brigette Lundy-Paine, Scott Mescudi, Kristen Schaal, Anthony Carrigan, Erinn Hayes, Jayma Mays, Jillian Bell, Holland Taylor, Beck Bennett, William Sadler, Hal Landon Jr., and Amy Stoch.

Here’s the official synopsis for Bill & Ted Face the Music:

“The stakes are higher than ever for the time-traveling exploits of William ‘Bill’ S. Preston Esq. and Theodore ‘Ted’ Logan. 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. Along the way, they will be helped by their daughters, a new batch of historical figures, and a few music legends – to seek the song that will set their world right and bring harmony in the universe.”

What do you think of the original title for Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure? Are you glad they changed it? Let us know in the comments!