Bill & Ted 3 has always been one of those projects that seemed doomed to forever float in the ether - mournfully sharing its days with likes of Beetlejuice 2 or letting the Terminator franchise die with dignity.

However, Entertainment Weekly recently sat down with the stars of the original - Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter - to reminisce over that beloved slice of '80s cheese, 1989's Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, alongside its 1991 sequel Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey.

And give fans hope for the future: Bill & Ted 3's choppy development actually seem incredibly close to a breakthrough. That's despite the fact the project has been kicking around since 2007, after original Bill & Ted writers Chris Matheson and Ed Solomon pitched an idea to Reeves and Winter.

The pair have now finally completed a script for the third film (on spec, meaning completely for free), with the title of Bill & Ted Face the Music.

As Matheson described it, the film will follow on from the prophetic words uttered by Bill and Ted's mentor Rufus (George Carlin), who comes from the future and brings them the knowledge they'll one day write music to save the world.

"You’re told you’re gonna save the world. And now you’re 50 and you haven’t done it. Now they’re married, and it affects their marriages, and it affects their relationships with their kids, and it affects their everything," he explained.

“There’s certain comparisons,” Winter said. “A rock band that never goes to the place it thought it was going to get to. Having that moment in their life of going: ‘Do we try to get there, or give up the dream?'”

“Indomitable spirits confronted with, ‘Is this the end?'” Reeves added. “Of course, there is a little caveat in that someone comes from the future and says: ‘Not only do you have to save the world, you have to save everything.'”

Furthermore, Solomon offered the tantalising news that Bill & Ted Face the Music may escape development hell as early as next month. “We are hoping to close a deal with some financiers,” Solomon said. “Hopefully within the next month or so, we’ll have news that will stick.”

Indeed, the team already have a director in the form of Galaxy Quest's Dean Parisot, and original producer Scott Kroopf and Steven Soderbergh (yes, Steven Soderbergh) on board to produce. Bill Sadler will also return in the role of Death, with Solomon teasing "a few delicious cameos by people to be named another time".