Several sites are reporting that after this week’s tragic events in Las Vegas, Universal Orlando has preemptively made some changes to the storyline of this year’s Bill and Ted’s Excellent Halloween Adventure. The changes made are in direct response to the tragedy in Vegas, and were meant to be sensitive to not only those involved but those affected by it.
Spoilers are ahead, so be warned.
In this year’s show, Bill and Ted are putting on a Mega Comic Con Music Wine and Cheese Festival. The Grim Reaper shows up (specifically from Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey), and he gets a message from “Up stairs” saying that he has to kill everyone at the stupid festival, because the festival essentially represents everything wrong with the world, as everything becomes a festival, convention or food event. The boys then spend the next few minutes trying to convince Death that pop culture, and the audience is worth saving. The festival undergoes several name changes, and Sean Spicer goes nuts. It’s a pretty epic end to the long running show.
End Spoilers
After Sunday’s tragedy, the show was reportedly changed to have the show taking place at just a non-descript concert featuring the Wyld Stallyions, and not a big multi-day festival. The target of the Grim Reaper goes from being the audience, to now being just Bill and Ted.
It’s not uncommon for the show to undergo changes from opening night, all the way to the end of the run. Many times it’s cut for time, or for content. The Hollywood version of Bill and Ted was cut altogether, in the middle of the run, after a hack blogger made accusations of the show being homophobic. So, changes in the show are not all that uncommon. However, this is probably the biggest change in the history of the show.
The big question remains, is it really that big of a deal? Personally, we say no. The heart of the show is still the same, and it only changes a few of the jokes around. It’s unfortunate that it had to happen, but Universal is put into a very precarious position with this. They could just let the show go on, and hope that no one complains, but it would only be a matter of time before someone accused the park of being insensitive to the tragedy. It’s a no-win situation, but changing the show is the most likely the best choice from Universal’s perspective. Of course, there will be those that disagree.
The show is facing it’s final year at Halloween Horror Nights, which has fans apprehensive about any and all changes. The show has been a staple at the event for 26 years. As a reader on Facebook pointed out, Universal making the changes preemptively allows the show to finish the run, as intended. If they decided to not change it, the show would have faced a flurry of backlash, and the park may have been forced to pull the show entirely. Besides, with the Grim Reaper going after Bill and Ted specifically, it follows the movie a little more closely. It’s a hassle that the show can avoid as they move into the final weeks of
performances.
Check out video from the duo as they crash the HHN Media event:
The show has seen many ups and downs over the years, but have taken the blows as they come, and continue to dance for no reason through it all. If we could only all be like them, and find a way to come to peaceful terms with each other in just 30 minutes through dance battles and fart jokes, the world just might be a better place.
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