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WIRE Buzz: Bill & Ted 3 wraps; Gina Rodriguez leads Netflix sci-fi Awake; more
Today’s WIRE Buzz is a mix of new beginnings and bittersweet ends. Everyone’s excited for new properties to start, but nothing is harder than saying goodbye to a beloved franchise — especially if it happens to star Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter.
Bill & Ted Face the Music, the third entry in the time travel franchise, has wrapped production after two months of work. With production finally beginning in early July, the Dean Parisot-directed film had a long and rocky development that finally culminated in the fan-favorite series bringing its iconic stars back to the fold. Now, as per a tweet from the film’s official account, the film has completed shooting.
Take a look:
A photo of cast and crew (can you spot Reeves and Winter sitting amid the mix?) bids farewell to the unlikely and long-coming entry to the franchise, assuring fans that the Wyld Stallyns ethos will live on long after Bill & Ted finally Face the Music. Creating the perfect tune after picking the brains of the greatest thinkers (and rockers) in history is a fitting end for the series — at least as fans know it.
Audiences will get to see the duo face off against evil alongside their daughters (played by Samara Weaving and Brigette Lundy-Paine) when the film hits theaters on Aug. 21, 2020.
Next, a new Netflix genre film has unveiled its cast — with some exciting leads delving deep into the streamer’s latest sci-fi offering. Awake, which is a dystopian movie where humanity can no longer sleep and electronics are disabled (presumably both have to do with the same mysterious event), will be led by Gina Rodriguez, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Barry Pepper, and Finn Jones, according to Variety. Rodriguez and Leigh both made big splashes recently in trippy sci-fi Annihilation, so seeing them reunite is already exciting.
Joining this cast are Ariana Greenblatt, Frances Fisher, Shamier Anderson, Lucius Hoyos, and Gil Bellows. Since the film is about Rodriguez’s daughter possibly holding the cure to this Sleepless in Seattle and Also Everywhere Else scenario, it seems likely that Greenblatt (who played young Gamora in Infinity War) will play this pivotal role with plenty of opportunity to break out.
Awake—coming from director Mark Raso, who co-wrote with his brother Joseph Raso and Greg Poirier—is currently filming in Canada.
Finally, fans are getting the first look at the spooky fairy tale retelling of Gretel & Hansel. The film, which stars It's Sophia Lillis alongside Sammy Leakey, Charles Babalola, Alice Krige, and Jessica De Gouw, is the latest genre take on the witchy fable - and it's leaning way into the horror side of things. Just look at this:
Those are some serious The VVitch vibes. Lillis' Gretel leads little brother Hansel (Leakey) through director Osgood Perkins' nightmarish woods, where finding a house is definitely not a good thing. Perkins is known for his pair of killer slow-burn horror films, The Blackcoat's Daughter and I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House, and will look to continue his streak when Gretel & Hansel hits theaters on Jan. 31, 2020.
