Sometimes you have to pull out that GIF of Oprah asking, “So what is the truth?” and filter the world through her sharp, inquisitive gaze. Right now, that gaze should be trained upon everyone involved with Bill & Ted Face the Music. Just a couple months after it was joyously confirmed that the stoner threequel was in pre-production, star Keanu Reeves (a.k.a. Ted) has hit the brakes on all that optimism. In an interview with Yahoo, he hedged the future of the Bill & Ted cinematic universe, saying a third film might not happen after all.

“I don’t know if it’s a reality,” he said. “We’ve been trying for a long time to get that film made, and it still has its challenges.”

Oh, Keanu, you precious jewel among men. You can practically hear the weariness in his voice, the years and years and years of trying to get this movie off the ground and always coming up against obstacles. The pessimistic “whoa” of it all. He elaborated in the interview, noting that the issues were mainly on the technical side.

“I really love the characters, and I think we have a good story to tell. Part of it is show business stuff—financing, rights, deals. Nothing creatively,” he said.

Just a few months ago, it seemed like everything was aligning most bodaciously. Back in May, it was reported that original Bill & Ted-heads Chris Matheson and Ed Solomon had already penned a script for the film, which would be directed by Dean Parisot (Galaxy Quest).

“We couldn’t be more excited to get the whole band back together again,” Reeves and co-star Alex Winter said in a joint statement at the time. “Chris and Ed wrote an amazing script, and with Dean at the helm, we’ve got a dream team!”

We were so young then, so full of hope before this beautiful promise turned to ash. Still, there is a tiny, excellent light at the end of this tunnel. In the Yahoo interview, Reeves did offer his canonical take of what Ted would be up to now, teasing what we could possibly see if a third movie survives the Hollywood machine. “There’d be a lot about him that would be the same, I’m sure; his kind of optimistic naïveté in the face of the darkness will still be there,” Reeves said. “He has a child now, so I’m sure he’s matured.”