Vikings: Valhalla will end with season 3 on Netflix, concluding the saga of the most famous Vikings who ever lived.

The saga of Leif Eriksson (Sam Corlett), Freydis Eriksdotter (Frida Gustavsson), and Harald (Leo Suter) is coming to an end. As first reported by IGN, Vikings: Valhalla will conclude next year with season 3.

“I am so grateful to have had three seasons to tell the stories of Leif, Harald and Freydis,” said series creator Jeb Stuart. “I knew from the beginning that I wanted to show the evolution of how three of the most famous Vikings became the icons we know today and we have done just that.”

Stuart continued, “I hope when the audience gets to see the new season, they’ll be excited by all the new heights that we’ve taken these heroes. When we started this project 5 years ago, I worked hard with this incredible cast and crew to craft a journey that we all hoped would be satisfying. Of course with real historical figures, there are always more aspects of their lives that could be explored, but it made sense story-wise for our Leif, Freydis and Harald’s voyages to end with our third season. And we really cannot wait for the fans to see the conclusion of this chapter of history.“

Set over a thousand years ago in the early 11th century, Vikings: Valhalla chronicles the heroic adventures of some of the most famous Vikings who ever lived — the legendary explorer Leif Eriksson (Sam Corlett), his fiery and headstrong sister Freydis Eriksdotter (Frida Gustavsson), and the ambitious Nordic prince Harald Sigurdsson (Leo Suter). The series’ second season picks up with our heroes shortly after the tragic fall of Kattegat; an event that has shattered their dreams and altered their destinies. Finding themselves suddenly fugitives in Scandinavia, they are forced to test their ambitions and courage in worlds beyond the fjords of Kattegat.

Our own Alex Maidy reviewed the series upon its release and was a big fan. “If you were a fan of Vikings, then you will absolutely love Valhalla. It works as a standalone series as well as a companion to the original series and offers a bloody and interesting look at an era of history that is often glossed over,” Maidy wrote. “With solid production values, great cinematography, and a lot of well-written characters, Vikings: Valhalla is a good watch for fans of epic battles as much as they are of palace intrigue and political thrills. It is worth noting that you will likely need a pad and pencil to keep track of who is who but if you are willing to invest in this you will enjoy the ride.” Check out the rest of Maidy’s review right here.

Vikings: Valhalla season 3 will launch on Netflix in 2024.

For years, Awesome Art We’ve Found Around The Net has been about two things only – awesome art and the artists that create it. With that in mind, we thought why not take the first week of the month to showcase these awesome artists even more? Welcome to “Awesome Artist We’ve Found Around The Net.” In this column, we are focusing on one artist and the awesome art that they create, whether they be amateur, up and coming, or well established. The goal is to uncover these artists so even more people become familiar with them. We ask these artists a few questions to see their origins, influences, and more. If you are an awesome artist or know someone that should be featured, feel free to contact me at any time at [email protected].This month we are very pleased to bring you the awesome art of…

Christopher Owen

Christopger is 32 years old from Glasgow, Scotland. He has a wonderful wife Natalie and a son Max who he loves very, very much. Art is really important to him too and doesn’t know what his geeky brain would do without having that outlet! If Christopher obsesses over something, he has to draw it.

JoBlo: What got you started as an artist?
Owen: I loved drawing from such a really young age. I’d draw little comic strips and imaginary battle scenes based on Star Wars or Jurassic Park. Pretty much all the same stuff that excited me then still excites me now. It was an escape. My home life suffered from a lot of turmoil. I suffered abuse from a family member and that made me a really insular person. Drawing was an escape from that. There’s no shame in it and I’m proud to have the artistic ability I have today. I have such a supportive and loving family now, mainly my wife and son, and it’s turned my artwork not into an escape but an expression of gratitude and a celebration of everything that I hold dear.

Who were some of your favorite artists growing up?
I’m sure it’s the same for alot of artists who love cinema but Drew Struzan was the first artist who made a huge impact on me. It was in the Showcase Cinema in Glasgow, my hometown, where I first saw the posters for the Star Wars special editions in 1997 and I told myself I want to draw like that! John Alvin to a similar degree. I also love the art of Salvador Dali and Peter Howson.

Who do you really dig these days, follow on Instagram?
I love Sam Gilbey and Nuno Sardanas. They’re also poster artists and they really inspire me with their creativity. Rachel Jane Art is my friend too and she has a really amazing painterly style that I’m in awe of. I do follow a lot of artists. I do try and keep my social media a really positive and inspiring place.

What advice would you have for budding artists today?
I think it’s just important to be yourself and follow your own path. Draw inspiration from where you can find it and have fun. Every artist started because it was a fun bit of escapism. Never lose that.

What should we be looking out for from you in the future?
More of just being me. I hope to continue getting better at the craft and learning new techniques. I don’t want to ever reach a point where I feel like I can’t improve or do better. I want a constant evolution.

Being a fansite, we have to ask you… What are some of your favorite movies/TV shows of all time?
There’s a lot I could list but it really boils down to Star Wars and Jurassic Park. I love both of those worlds. I’ll want to hold a real lightsaber or see a real dinosaur until the day I die.

Scroll down to check out some of our favorite art pieces from Christopher as we continue to follow his journey across his Website and social media hubs: Instagram / X / Facebook / Poster Spy / Red Bubble / Patreon / Store

Aliens

Alien 3

Ghostbusters: Afterlife

Gremlins 2: The New Batch

Jaws

The Last Of Us

The Lost World: Jurassic Park

Moon Knight

The Muppets

Parks and Recreation

Predator

Prey

Scream VI

Star Wars: The Bad Batch

Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi

Star Wars: The Mandalorian

Train To Busan

The Universal Monsters

Yellowjackets

The horrible reviews seem to have played a part in The Exorcist: Believer coming in shy of its low end $30 million projections

Numbers have begun rolling in for this first full weekend in October and they are generally in line with our predictions from Thursday. The Exorcist: Believer is coming out on top with what is looking like a softer than expected $28 million (tracking had the film taking in between $30-$36 million). 

This is both good and bad news for the newest entry in the decades old franchise as it definitely represents a franchise best opening, and that will certainly be the headlines for this weekend. While the fact that it is getting completely obliterated by critics means that this softer than expected opening will likely have a horrendous second week drop. Ranging from calling it dull to our own Chris Bumbray calling it “awful” in his 4/10 review. And whereas sometimes there is a big discrepancy between critic and audiences, this one seems to be hated by both as it currently has a 55% audience score. 

The plus side is that the film cost just $30 million to produce before marketing and should recoup that money, but apparently Universal shelled out $400 million for the rights to the franchise, and if this is how you start, I’m not sure fans will be willing to come back for the rest of the planned trilogy.

For my money, I didn’t hate the movie as much as the majority of critics seem to have. Perhaps my expectations were severely lowered by the horrible reviews, but the movie was able to hold my attention, even if I didn’t find it to be breaking any new ground. I have never been the biggest fan of devil possession movies mainly because most of them try and shock without being actually creepy, and this movie is no exception. Of course when the biggest praise you can heap on a film is that it isn’t as bad as what the critics are saying, I’m not sure that is a quote they are going to stick on the blu ray! 

The remainder of the top five look to have simply moved down a spot from where they finished last week with Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie looking at around $12 million while Saw X actually shows some signs of life by only dropping a little over 50% in its second weekend, whereas most horror films tend to have drops closer to the 60% mark. I guess sometimes good reviews do matter (like our 7/10 review from Tyler Nichols).

Sadly the lone piece of original IP in the top five, The Creator, looks to drop a little over 60% in its second weekend as general word of mouth for the Gareth Edwards directed AI centric film tends to be that it is a bit boring. Studios will draw the wrong conclusions from this and use it as a way to justify not spending money on original ideas any more. I looked up what the last genuine piece of original IP that was a bonafide box office hit and had to go all the way back to January when M3GAN was released and before that would be September 2022 when Smile hit theaters. So basically horror movies with original ideas can do well at the box office while films from Spielberg (The Fabelmans, West Side Story) and ones starring George Clooney and Julia Roberts (Ticket To Paradise) fail to make an impression.

Rounding out the top five will be The Nun II with what looks like an additional $2.5 million for a running total just over $80 million. With a few weeks until Halloween, this one should continue to see small week top week drops, but I think at this point it will probably fail to hit that $100 million domestic mark.

Did you see The Exorcist: Believer this weekend? If so, let us know your thoughts in the comments section and don’t forget to check back tomorrow when we have a full run down on this weekend’s box office.

In 1989 Orion Pictures, along with Nelson Entertainment released Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure. The film was widely loved, and still is, to this day by both critics and fans alike. Because the film was so popular, spawned tons of merchandise and even had two spinoff shows…a sequel was inevitable. 

This isn’t just any sequel, it’s Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey. At the time regarded as a love it or hate it film and was considered a box office failure. So let’s go to hell, visit heaven, build some evil and good robots and face off in the Battle of Bands as we check out Bill & Ted’s bonkers follow up on this episode of Revisited. 

As stated earlier, Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure was released in February 1989 and became a huge success. People couldn’t get enough of the two brain dead yet incredibly likable pair of Bill and Ted. The film grossed $40 million domestically on a budget of $10 million. Orion Pictures demanded a sequel and wanted something that would follow up their hit. 

Chris Matheson and Ed Solomon would get to work writing the sequel. Orion wanted Bill and Ted to pass an English test and visit classic works of literature, such as Romeo and Juliet, Crime and Punishment and Tom Sawyer. Chris and Ed gave a hard pass to the idea and instead would come up with Bill & Ted Go To Hell. The title was changed to Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey because of American objections to the word hell. Once the script was sent in, the studio executives immediately said no to killing off Bill and Ted. The writers and actors stood firm on the premise, realizing that it was too good an idea not to do. 

Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter would come back and reprise their roles and play their Evil Robot selves, but some new characters would join the film as well. One would stand out above the rest, and that is Death, also known as the Grim Reaper, played by William Sadler aka Colonel William Stuart from Die Hard 2. When the boys arrive in Hell, he challenges them to a series of games to regain their lives similar to the film The Seventh Seal, in which a knight plays Death in a game of chess for his life. Once defeated, Death shows his comedic side and becomes a part of the gang as the film progresses. His performance is the best part of the movie. He brings a blend of humor and eccentricity to the character as well as sports a huge ego and is overly dramatic, but a scene stealer nonetheless.  

Also brought on was the character of Chuck De Nomolos, played by actor Joss Ackland. He would be named after the screenwriter Ed Solomon, which is his name backwards. De Nomolos would serve as the main antagonist to the film. He adds a serious and sinister tone to the film and is driven by a desire to create a dystopian future where he holds all power. Unfortunately, he feels half baked and doesn’t come off as menacing as you would think. Joss Ackland said in an interview that he only did the movie because of a bet between him and a family member and considers it an embarrassment in his career. Several characters would return such as Rufus, The Princesses aka the babes, Bill and Ted’s Dads as well as Missy.

So what’s it all about? In the year 2691, Wyld Stallyns created a utopian futuristic society. Chuck De Nomolos crashes a lesson that Rufus is teaching to send evil robot versions of Bill and Ted to the past and eliminate the real Bill and Ted. The robots travel back in time to 3 years after Bill and Ted have graduated high school and have entered the contest for Battle of the Bands. They want to win the cash prize of $25,000 as well as land a record deal…but they still suck. We catch up with the boys and see how much their lives have and haven’t changed. For one, they are still with the princesses from the first film and are getting ready to propose as well as Missy moving on from Bill’s Dad to Ted’s Dad. The evil robots come to their apartment and lure them away to Vasquez Rocks and kill them by throwing our loveable idiots off a cliff. The robots go on to ruin their lives including trashing their apartment and breaking up with the princesses. 

The real Bill and Ted are met in the afterlife by Death who tells them they can challenge him in a game. They end up giving Death a Melvin and run back home to try and contact the police so Bill possesses his Dad, in what amounts to one of the funniest scenes in the movie. They then go to Ted’s house and see Missy doing a seance. She believes their spirits to be evil and banishes them to Hell. In Hell, they end up being tormented by Satan and facing their fears including visiting Bill’s creepy grandma, a terrifying Easter Bunny that would give any child nightmares and Colonel Oats at his Military Academy. Bill and Ted challenge Death to a series of games to earn their lives back, eventually winning and escaping the afterlife. They go to Heaven and God directs them to an alien duo known as Station. Station goes with them back to Earth and helps build good robot versions of themselves to battle against the evil robots. 

Bill and Ted confront the evil robots by destroying them with the good robots and save the princesses. De Nomolos crashes in at the nick of time and overrides all broadcasts across the world to show him killing Bill and Ted on stage. Our boys deduce the fact that they can go back in time and outsmart De Nomolos. 

Bill and Ted then take the time booth to go into the future and come back after sixteen months of guitar training, sporting ZZ-Top outfits and have kids of their own. In the end, the Battle of the Bands performance is a success, and Bill and Ted’s music unites the world, leading to the harmonious future that was originally meant to happen. The film closes with Bill and Ted reflecting on their journey and embracing their role as the legendary rockers who will change the world. Sounds like a heavy film that has a runtime of only 93 minutes! 

Production began in July 1990 and wrapped after 12 weeks. Filming would take place in California instead of Arizona. Some great landmarks were used as filming locations such as The Japanese Garden of the Tillman Water Reclamation Plant in Van Nuys, California and The San Dimas Civic Auditorium which is no longer open to the public but is available for filming and private event.s The most famous landmark in the film is at the Vasquez Rocks Natural Area Park in Southern California. Movies like The Flintstones, Blazing Saddles as well as Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back have all filmed in this location including the original Star Trek TV series. Filming at this location involved the Evil Bill and Ted throwing our heroes off the cliff to their deaths as well as when they meet Death. 

Stephen Herek wouldn’t return to direct. He was replaced with Peter Hewitt at the helm. Peter Hewitt would bring on Oliver Wood as Director of Photography, who previously shot Die Hard 2 and would go on to DP for Face/Off, Talladega Nights, The Bourne Trilogy and Morbius. 

Solomon and Matheson wrote a film that had previously wrapped shooting entitled Mom and Dad Save the World, a film that if you grew up in the 90’s would always see playing on HBO. The studio delayed the set’s demolition so it could be used to film in Bogus Journey. You’ll notice the remnants of the set as the ceiling of the future classroom in the beginning of the movie. 

David L. Snyder, of Pee Wee’s Big Adventure fame, was brought on as Production Designer. He would help bring a sense of forced perspective to the film along with the crew. David even came up with a cool way to make Bill and Ted look dead for their afterlife. Instead of adding a filter or effect in a computer, they are painted with grayscale which was done with make-up and costume colors. Everything about Bogus Journey screams surreal and the set design of the film would be based on circles, domes and spheres, which is prominent throughout the Heaven and Hell scenes. It looks just fantastic and holds up well today. You really feel a sense of claustrophobia during the Hell chase scene. 

Kevin Yagher was responsible for creature effects. He helped build the Easter Bunny, Station, as well as the good robot versions of Bill and Ted. Kevin had previous experience designing and creating Chucky for the original Child’s Play. He was able to bring his skills in giving the Easter Bunny the same type of look and movement…no wonder I was terrorized by both of those puppets as a kid. In regards to Station’s look, the original design was something straight out of The Dark Crystal. Kevin would give Station a big butt in which Ed and Chris signed off on loving the look. Producer Scott Kroopf thought Station was too controversial and that audiences wouldn’t find them funny or appealing…glad to see he was proven wrong. Because the production didn’t have a big enough budget to create actual robots, the crew hired breakdancers to don the robot costumes and mimic robotic movements. The result is incredible and one of the highlights of the film. Kevin would also dress up Alex Winter to play his grandma in the nightmarish scene. 

There are TONS of celebrity cameos in this film. First off, at the Battle of the Bands, we see Primus appear as themselves performing their song “Tommy The Cat”. Jim Martin, who was the lead guitarist of Faith No More at the time, appears as himself. Rufus introduces him as the head of the Faith No More Spiritual and Theological Center. Anyone who was born in the late 90’s to early 2000’s would probably have this reference go over their head. Pam Grier makes an appearance as Ms. Wardrobe, who is in charge of Battle of the Bands, but is really Rufus in disguise and Taj Mahal, a famous blues musician, plays the gatekeeper of heaven. Even the director, Pete Hewitt shows up in the hardware store as well as our good ole boys Chris Matheson and Ed Solomon stopping by for Missy’s seance. Their camo isn’t as memorable this time around as their Ziggy Piggy appearance, but it’s still great to see them pop in.

Notably there are some scenes that were filmed either fully or partially that would never make it to the finalized film and have been hard to track down online. Two scenes in particular stand out. The first one consists of Evil Bill and Ted unzipping themselves to reveal that they are each other in different bodies. There are pictures showcasing the suits that they zip out of which look pretty realistic. The second scene is a car chase scene. You may be thinking to yourself “When and how would this happen? This movie is already stuffed to the brim?” It takes place after the boys have acquired their van and are heading to the concert. We see Colonel Oats, the creepy grandmother and an even scarier full grown Easter Bunny chasing after our heroes to prevent them from making it to the Battle of the Bands. A portion of this scene was filmed, with pictures surfacing of the Easter Bunny ripping the top of the van. In the Marvel comic that was released to coincide with the film, this scene along with several other deleted scenes were included thanks to Evan Dorkin. He would adapt the screenplay and pencil the art. Speaking of the comic book, because of its popularity, Marvel commissioned a spin-off series entitled Bill & Ted’s Excellent Comic Book which ran for 12 issues and would feature original stories. 

Months before the release of Bogus Journey, Orion Pictures was on the verge of bankruptcy. They were in the process of selling off the rights to several films in an attempt to remain stable. After careful consideration, they kept it because Orion had faith in Bill and Ted’s second on screen presence. 

Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey would be released theatrically on July 19,1991. It opened in second place grossing $10 million on its opening weekend. behind Terminator 2: Judgement Day and funny enough, this film mocks the plot of the first Terminator. Critics and audiences weren’t too favorable of it at the time. With it currently sitting at a 55% on Rotten Tomatoes, the critics consensus reads “Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey has the same stars – and cheerfully wacky sense of humor – as its predecessor, but they prove a far less effective combination the second time around.”  Some critics would say that it was funnier than the first while others called it sloppy and overcomplicated. The film would go on to gross $38 million domestically which was less than Excellent Adventure made after its initial box office run. 

Bogus would be released on VHS in January 1992. In December of 2001, Bogus and Excellent would be released alongside each other on DVD. Not until November 2018 would us fans get a proper release. Shout Factory released both Excellent and Bogus in a beautiful package entitled Bill & Ted’s Most Excellent Collection on Blu-ray. The picture quality for both looks impressive and its packed with tons of special features including documentaries on the making of both Excellent Adventure and Bogus Journey, Vintage EPKs, Documentaries on the historical figures they encounter, creation of the characters with Chris and Ed as well as so much more. As a huge fan of both films, this sits proudly in my collection and is something I’ll regularly put on to watch. 

There would be talks of a third film to complete the trilogy and eventually in 2020, us fans got to experience it. Granted, it came out during the Covid Pandemic and felt more like a stay at home movie than a theatrical experience…but that’s a story for another time.

Over the years, Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey would receive a cult status from viewers. Some who didn’t come around to it the first time would give it another shot and end up enjoying it the more they saw it. I am one of those few who consider Bogus to be better than the first. Why? Well, for one it’s something different and original…in its own way. Hear me out, I’m not knocking Excellent in any way, I just prefer the forced perspective look and feel of the film as well as the lengths of absolute absurdity that Chris and Ed created. The afterlife sequences are truly a highlight and are scenes that are still cemented in my brain over 30 years later. The introduction of Death was fresh and brought a whole new dynamic to the story that we didn’t know we needed. This film took a HUGE risk and even though it didn’t fully pay off theatrically, it would with fans who got to experience it on home video. 

Despite its departure from the first film’s formula, Bogus Journey maintains the core themes of friendship that made Bill and Ted so loveable from the first film. It deserves praise for its willingness to take such risks and offer a completely bonkers adventure and makes for some imaginative storytelling. 

In conclusion Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey  is a sequel that successfully builds on its predecessor while venturing into uncharted horror comedy territory. With its inventive afterlife scenarios, hilarious performances and underlying themes of friendship and unity, the film stands as a testament to the power of creative storytelling.