''Back to the Future'' is an American
science fiction comedy
Science fiction comedy (sci-fi comedy) or comic science fiction is a subgenre of science fiction or science fantasy that exploits the science-fiction (SF) genre's conventions for comedy, comedic effect. Comic science fiction often mocks or satirize ...
franchise created by
Robert Zemeckis
Robert Lee Zemeckis (born May 14, 1952) is an American filmmaker. He first came to public attention as the director of the action-adventure romantic comedy ''Romancing the Stone'' (1984), the science-fiction comedy ''Back to the Future'' film tr ...
and
Bob Gale
Michael Robert Gale (born May 25, 1951) is an American screenwriter, comic book writer, film producer and director. He is best known for co-writing the science fiction comedy film ''Back to the Future'' with his writing partner Robert Zemec ...
. The franchise follows the adventures of a high school student,
Marty McFly
Martin Seamus "Marty" McFly is a fictional character and the protagonist of the ''Back to the Future'' franchise. He is portrayed by Canadian actor Michael J. Fox in all three films. McFly also appears in the animated series, where he was voiced ...
, and an eccentric scientist,
Dr. Emmett "Doc" Brown, as they use a
DeLorean time machine
In the ''Back to the Future'' franchise, the DeLorean time machine is a time travel device made by retrofitting a DMC DeLorean vehicle with a flux capacitor. The car requires 1.21 gigawatts ("jigawatts/jigowatts") of power and needs to travel 88 ...
to time travel to different periods in the history of the fictional town of
Hill Valley, California.
The
first ''Back to the Future'' film was the highest-grossing film of 1985 and became an international phenomenon, leading to the
second
The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds ...
and
third films, which were
back-to-back film productions, released in 1989 and 1990, respectively. Though the sequels did not perform quite as well at the box office as the first film, the trilogy remains immensely popular and has yielded such spin-offs as an
animated television series
An animated series is a set of Animation, animated works with a common series title, usually related to one another. These episodes should typically share the same main characters, some different secondary characters and a basic theme. Series can ...
and a
motion-simulation ride at the
Universal Studios Theme Parks
Universal Parks & Resorts, also known as Universal Studios Theme Parks or solely Universal Theme Parks, is the theme park unit of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. The company, headquartered in Orlando, Florida, operates Universal theme par ...
in
Universal City, California
Universal City is an unincorporated area within the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles County, California, United States. Approximately 415 acres (1.7 km) within and around the surrounding area is the property of Universal Picture ...
;
Orlando, Florida
Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County, Florida, Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Greater Orlando, Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, acco ...
; and
Osaka, Japan
is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third most populous city in Ja ...
(all now closed), as well as a
video game
Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...
and a
stage musical
Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movement ...
. The film's visual effects were done by
Industrial Light and Magic
Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) is an American motion picture visual effects company that was founded on May 26, 1975 by George Lucas. It is a division of the film production company Lucasfilm, which Lucas founded, and was created when he began pro ...
. The first film won an
Academy Award for Sound Editing
The Academy Award for Best Sound Editing was an Academy Award granted yearly to a film exhibiting the finest or most aesthetic sound design or sound editing. Sound editing is the creation of sound effects (such as foley). The award was usually ...
.
Films
''Back to the Future'' (1985)
Seventeen-year-old
Marty McFly
Martin Seamus "Marty" McFly is a fictional character and the protagonist of the ''Back to the Future'' franchise. He is portrayed by Canadian actor Michael J. Fox in all three films. McFly also appears in the animated series, where he was voiced ...
is accidentally sent back in time from October 26, 1985, to November 5, 1955, in a
time machine
Time travel is the concept of movement between certain points in time, analogous to movement between different points in space by an object or a person, typically with the use of a hypothetical device known as a time machine. Time travel is a w ...
built from a
DeLorean by eccentric scientist
Emmett "Doc" Brown, when they are attacked and Doc is apparently killed by
Islamic terrorists
Islamic terrorism (also known as Islamist terrorism or radical Islamic terrorism) refers to Terrorism, terrorist acts with religious terrorism, religious motivations carried out by Islamic fundamentalism, fundamentalist militant Islamism, ...
from whom he stole the
plutonium
Plutonium is a radioactive chemical element with the symbol Pu and atomic number 94. It is an actinide metal of silvery-gray appearance that tarnishes when exposed to air, and forms a dull coating when oxidized. The element normally exhibi ...
that gives the flux capacitor the 1.21
gigawatt
The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named after James Wat ...
s it needs to time-travel. Soon after his arrival in 1955, Marty's mother,
Lorraine
Lorraine , also , , ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; german: Lothringen ; lb, Loutrengen; nl, Lotharingen is a cultural and historical region in Northeastern France, now located in the administrative region of Gr ...
, falls in love with him, rather than with his father
George McFly
The ''Back to the Future'' film trilogy and subsequent animated series feature characters created by Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale.
The lead character of the series is Marty McFly. During the course of the trilogy, he travels through time using ...
, threatening to cause a
paradox
A paradox is a logically self-contradictory statement or a statement that runs contrary to one's expectation. It is a statement that, despite apparently valid reasoning from true premises, leads to a seemingly self-contradictory or a logically u ...
that would result in Marty ceasing to exist. Without plutonium to power the time machine, Marty must find the 1955 Doc Brown to help him reunite his parents and return to 1985.
The efforts of
Biff Tannen
Biff Howard Tannen is a fictional character and a major antagonist in the ''Back to the Future'' trilogy. Thomas F. Wilson plays Biff in all three films as well as the Universal Studios ride, and voiced the character in the animated series. Bif ...
, George's bully and supervisor, further complicate Marty's situation until Marty successfully causes his parents to fall in love and simultaneously convinces George to finally stand up to Biff. Returning to the future via a lightning strike that powers the machine, Marty discovers a vastly improved situation for the McFly family, as a much more confident George has become an accomplished science fiction author, Marty's two older siblings have better lives, he owns the car of his dreams, and an apparently-softened Biff is now an auto detailer, rather than George's supervisor. Despite 1955 Doc's insistence on not knowing details of the future, a note Marty leaves in his pocket on November 12, 1955, prevents him from being killed by the terrorists. In the film's final moments, Doc Brown appears in a modified version of the DeLorean and tells Marty and his girlfriend
Jennifer Parker
The ''Back to the Future'' film trilogy and subsequent animated series feature characters created by Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale.
The lead character of the series is Marty McFly. During the course of the trilogy, he travels through time usin ...
that they must travel to the future to fix a problem caused by Marty and Jennifer's kids.
''Back to the Future Part II'' (1989)
The series continues as Doc Brown travels with Marty and Jennifer to the year 2015, where he has discovered Marty's family is in ruins. Shortly after rectifying the situation, Marty buys a sports almanac containing the outcomes of 50 years (1950–2000) worth of sporting events to make easy money. However, Doc talks him out of it and throws the almanac in the trash bin, where the 2015 Biff Tannen finds it. A sleeping Jennifer has been taken by police to her future home, needing Marty and Doc to retrieve her before returning to 1985. While Marty and Doc are at the 2015 McFly home, 2015 Biff steals the DeLorean time machine and gives the book to his 1955 self just before he goes to the dance at the end of the first film. When Doc and Marty return to 1985, they find that Biff has used the sports almanac's knowledge for financial gain, which allowed him to turn Courthouse Square into a casino with 27 floors, take over Hill Valley, get away with the murder of Marty's father, and later marry Marty's mother. Marty learns that Biff was given the book by 2015 Biff on November 12, 1955, so he and Doc go back to that date in order to steal the almanac from Biff before he can use it to destroy their lives. They accomplish this in a complex fashion, often crossing their own past selves' paths. When the duo is about to travel back to 1985, a lightning bolt strikes the DeLorean and activates the time circuits, sending Doc back to 1885 and leaving Marty stranded once again in 1955.
''Back to the Future Part III'' (1990)
After finding out that Doc Brown was trapped in 1885, Marty and the 1955 Doc find and fix the DeLorean. Learning that Doc gets shot in 1885 by Biff's great-grandfather, the outlaw Buford "Mad Dog" Tannen, Marty travels back in time to save Doc (who has become a
blacksmith
A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...
) and bring him back to the future. Arriving in the middle of a chase between the
United States Cavalry
The United States Cavalry, or U.S. Cavalry, was the designation of the mounted force of the United States Army by an act of Congress on 3 August 1861.Price (1883) p. 103, 104 This act converted the U.S. Army's two regiments of dragoons, one ...
and
American Indians, Marty is forced to flee to a cave, discovering the DeLorean's fuel line is torn. Marty convinces Doc to come back with him and find a way to get back to his time before it is too late, but Doc is smitten after saving schoolteacher Clara Clayton. After running afoul of and defeating Buford Tannen and several dramatic action scenes involving using a speeding
locomotive
A locomotive or engine is a rail transport vehicle that provides the Power (physics), motive power for a train. If a locomotive is capable of carrying a payload, it is usually rather referred to as a multiple unit, Motor coach (rail), motor ...
to push the
DeLorean to , Marty returns to 1985 without Doc Brown. When the DeLorean appears in 1985, a modern train destroys it, with Marty barely escaping. Reuniting with Jennifer, Marty avoids a street race and the two visit the scene of the wreckage of the DeLorean. Suddenly, Doc, Clara and their children appear in a time-travelling steam locomotive. Doc reminds Marty and Jennifer that "
heir
Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, titles, debts, entitlements, privileges, rights, and obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ among societies and have changed over time. Officiall ...
future is whatever
hey
Hey or Hey! may refer to:
Music
* Hey (band), a Polish rock band
Albums
* ''Hey'' (Andreas Bourani album) or the title song (see below), 2014
* ''Hey!'' (Julio Iglesias album) or the title song, 1980
* ''Hey!'' (Jullie album) or the title s ...
make it", so they must "make it a good one." The locomotive lifts off the tracks and departs from 1985, ending the trilogy.
Future
Co-writer and director Robert Zemeckis, who has final rights to all films in the ''Back to the Future'' franchise, has stated that he will block all attempts to remake or reboot the original film. Co-writer Bob Gale has stated that he did not wish to see another film in the series without the Marty McFly character nor any other actor than Michael J. Fox playing him, while acknowledging that Fox's
current health condition would make this impossible. He illustrated this at a 2008 fan convention in Florida, stating "The idea of making another ''Back to the Future'' movie without Michael J. Fox – you know, that's like saying, 'I'm going to cook you a steak dinner and I'm going to hold the beef." Gale also said that the
Telltale video-game adaptation is the closest thing to what a fourth film could be like. In an interview on October 21, 2015, the day of
Marty McFly's purported arrival in the future,
Christopher Lloyd
Christopher Allen Lloyd (born October 22, 1938) is an American actor. He has appeared in many theater productions, films, and on television since the 1960s. He is known for portraying Dr. Emmett "Doc" Brown in the ''Back to the Future'' tril ...
stated that he would consider making a fourth film under the condition that the original cast and creative team returned, along with a story "worth telling". The same day, Lloyd reprised his role as
Doc Brown in a brief segment in which the character returns to announce a special message (titled "''Doc Brown Saves the World''"), explaining the discrepancy between reality and the future as depicted in the film. In 2020, actor
Tom Holland
Thomas Stanley Holland (born 1 June 1996) is an English actor. His accolades include a British Academy Film Award, three Saturn Awards, a Guinness World Record and an appearance on the ''Forbes'' 30 Under 30 Europe list. Some publications h ...
claimed in an interview with
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...
that he was approached by an unnamed producer over a possible reboot of the franchise with him starring the lead role as Marty McFly (or a similarly new character). However, Holland stated he was reluctant to take up this offer as he described the existing films as "perfect films", though he would be interested in re-creating scenes from the films in a deep-fake homage video or short film.
Short film
''Doc Brown Saves the World'' (2015)
''Doc Brown Saves the World'' is a 2015 direct-to-video short film starring Christopher Lloyd as Emmett Brown. The short is featured on the 2015 Blu-ray and DVD release of the ''Back to the Future'' trilogy commemorating the franchise's 30th anniversary. The short was released in the United States on October 20, 2015.
Emmett Brown is in an undisclosed location outside Hill Valley, California. He sets a video camera to track his body in order to videotape a message for Marty McFly. He explains that it is October 21, 2015, one hour before Marty, Doc, and Jennifer Parker arrive from 1985. He explains that when he traveled to the future, he discovered that there was a
nuclear holocaust
A nuclear holocaust, also known as a nuclear apocalypse, nuclear Armageddon, or atomic holocaust, is a theoretical scenario where the mass detonation of nuclear weapons causes globally widespread destruction and radioactive fallout. Such a scenar ...
that occurred on October 21, 2045. He tracked it down to four inventions: the food hydrator, self-lacing shoes, the hoverboard, and the Mr. Fusion home energy reactor.
The former three inventions led to the world becoming lazy and obese, leading to widespread waste. The invention of hoverboards led to hovercars, which led to people throwing their trash out of the windows, causing a great trash storm in 2021. All of this trash needed to be disposed of, which led to 100 million Mr. Fusion units being manufactured. All of the Mr. Fusion units had a tiny nuclear reactor inside, and all of them detonated on October 21, 2045. The chain of events that led to this happening began less than twenty-four hours after Marty caused Griff Tannen to crash his hoverboard into the Hill Valley Courthouse when Griff was sentenced. He vowed to get back at the world for laughing at him and planned to do it through a company that he would found, GriffTech.
Doc holds up a tablet computer with a digital version of the Hill Valley Telegraph. On June 13, 2032, GriffTech invented a social media network called ThingMeme, which secured funding from Douglas J. Needles. ThingMeme allowed inanimate objects to post selfies on the internet. However, it was a scam, as it allowed Griff to gain access to every object on Earth. On the 30th anniversary of his arrest, on October 21, 2045, he uploaded a virus that was supposed to flash the word "butthead" on everything. However, it short-circuited the Mr. Fusion network, causing nuclear explosions in 100 million homes worldwide.
Doc Brown travels to an unknown date to ensure these inventions are never created, which will prevent the nuclear explosion. He leaves his camera on, which captures the inventions being erased from history. He arrives back in 2015, in a winter jacket and ski goggles, declaring that the mission was more complicated than he calculated, but declaring it a success. He holds up the tablet computer, where the headline on the Hill Valley Telegraph changes from "Griff Tannen Founds Grifftech" to "Griff Tannen Found Guilty".
Doc's excitement is short-lived, however, as he reaches in his pocket. He pulls out the Quantum Mind Jar, which he thought he disposed of in 2075. He is worried that not doing so will unravel everything they accomplished. The artificial intelligence of the Quantum Mind Jar tells Brown that they need to go back to the future, which he dismisses as he does not want to risk further time travel.
Another Emmett Brown then arrives, also declaring his experiment a success. Both versions of Brown, along with the artificial intelligence of the Quantum Mind Jar, are shocked at discovering that there are two Emmett Browns present.
Television
''Back to the Future'' (1991–1992)
An animated television series, ''Back to the Future: The Animated Series'', lasted two seasons, each featuring 13 episodes, and ran on CBS from September 14, 1991, to December 26, 1992.
The TV series ''
Back to the Future
''Back to the Future'' is a 1985 American science fiction film directed by Robert Zemeckis, and written by Zemeckis and Bob Gale. It stars Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover, and Thomas F. Wilson. Set in 1985, ...
'' was an
animated
Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most anim ...
science-fiction comedy adventure
television series
A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite television, satellite, or cable television, cable, excluding breaking news, television adverti ...
for television, based on the live-action film trilogy. Although the series takes place after the films, creator
Bob Gale
Michael Robert Gale (born May 25, 1951) is an American screenwriter, comic book writer, film producer and director. He is best known for co-writing the science fiction comedy film ''Back to the Future'' with his writing partner Robert Zemec ...
stated that the animated series and the comic books take place in their own 'what if' and alternate timelines.
The show lasted two seasons, each featuring 13 episodes, and ran on
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...
from September 14, 1991 to December 26, 1992 with reruns until August 14, 1993. The network chose not to renew the show for a third season (citing low ratings). It was later rerun on
Fox
Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush'').
Twelve sp ...
, as a part of the
FoxBox
4Kids TV (often stylized as 4K!DSTV and formerly known as FoxBox from September 14, 2002 to January 15, 2005) was an American television programming block and Internet-based video on demand children's network operated by 4Kids Entertainment. I ...
block, from March 22 to August 30, 2003. This show marked the debut television appearance of
Bill Nye
William Sanford Nye (born November 27, 1955), popularly known as Bill Nye the Science Guy, is an American mechanical engineer, science communicator, and television presenter. He is best known as the host of the science television show ''Bill ...
on a nationally broadcast show.
The central premise of the TV series was that, after the conclusion of ''
Back to the Future Part III
''Back to the Future Part III'' is a 1990 American science fiction Western film and the final installment of the ''Back to the Future'' trilogy. The film was directed by Robert Zemeckis, and stars Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Mary Stee ...
'', in 1991,
Dr. Emmett Brown
Emmett Lathrop Brown, Ph.D., commonly referred to as Doc Brown, is a fictional scientist character in the ''Back to the Future'' franchise. In the world of the franchise, he is the inventor of the world's first and second time machines, the f ...
moved into a farm in
Hill Valley with his wife
Clara
Clara may refer to:
Organizations
* CLARA, Latin American academic computer network organization
* Clara.Net, a European ISP
* Consolidated Land and Rail Australia, a property development consortium
People
* Clara (given name), a feminine giv ...
, their sons
Jules
Jules is the French form of the Latin "Julius" (e.g. Jules César, the French name for Julius Caesar). It is the given name of:
People with the name
*Jules Aarons (1921–2008), American space physicist and photographer
*Jules Abadie (1876–195 ...
and
Verne, and the family dog,
Einstein
Albert Einstein ( ; ; 14 March 1879 – 18 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist, widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest and most influential physicists of all time. Einstein is best known for developing the theory ...
. As with the films,
time travel
Time travel is the concept of movement between certain points in time, analogous to movement between different points in space by an object or a person, typically with the use of a hypothetical device known as a time machine. Time travel is a w ...
was achieved through the use of a modified
DeLorean, which had apparently been re-built after it was destroyed at the end of the trilogy. The
DeLorean now has voice-activated "time circuits" and can also travel instantaneously to different locations in space and time, in addition to folding into a suitcase. The characters also travel through time using the
steam engine
A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a cylinder. This pushing force can be trans ...
time machine Doc invented at the end of the third film.
Although
Marty McFly
Martin Seamus "Marty" McFly is a fictional character and the protagonist of the ''Back to the Future'' franchise. He is portrayed by Canadian actor Michael J. Fox in all three films. McFly also appears in the animated series, where he was voiced ...
is the show's main character and
Jennifer Parker
The ''Back to the Future'' film trilogy and subsequent animated series feature characters created by Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale.
The lead character of the series is Marty McFly. During the course of the trilogy, he travels through time usin ...
makes occasional appearances, the show focused primarily on the Brown family, whereas the films focused on the McFly family. The film's villain,
Biff Tannen
Biff Howard Tannen is a fictional character and a major antagonist in the ''Back to the Future'' trilogy. Thomas F. Wilson plays Biff in all three films as well as the Universal Studios ride, and voiced the character in the animated series. Bif ...
, also appeared frequently. In addition, relatives of McFly, Brown, and Tannen families were plentiful in the past or future parallel time zones visited. Unlike the films, which took place entirely in Hill Valley and the surrounding area, the series frequently took the characters to exotic locations. At the end of every episode, Doc Brown would appear to do an experiment, often related to the episode's plot. The first season also included post-credits segments with Biff Tannen telling a joke related to the episode, alluding to
Thomas F. Wilson's career as a
stand-up comedian
Stand-up comedy is a comedy, comedic performance to a live audience in which the performer addresses the audience directly from the stage. The performer is known as a comedian, a comic or a stand-up.
Stand-up comedy consists of One-line joke ...
.
Cast and crew
Cast and characters
![Bttf3cast](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5a/Bttf3cast.png)
*
Additional crew
Reception
Box office performance
* indicates the adjusted totals based on current ticket prices (by
Box Office Mojo
Box Office Mojo is an American website that tracks box-office revenue in a systematic, algorithmic way. The site was founded in 1998 by Brandon Gray, and was bought in 2008 by IMDb, which itself is owned by Amazon.
History
Brandon Gray began ...
).
, the ''Back to the Future'' series is the 14th-highest-grossing trilogy of all time at the domestic market (adjusted for inflation), 17th-highest-grossing trilogy of all time at the domestic market (not adjusted for inflation), and the 13th-highest-grossing trilogy of all time, worldwide (not adjusted for inflation).
The trilogy was re-released in certain countries worldwide on October 21, 2015, to commemorate the date traveled to by the protagonists in ''Back to the Future Part II'' and generated $4.8 million on its opening day.
In the United States and Canada, it earned $1.65 million from ticket sales across 1,815 North American theaters on its opening day.
Germany opened with $1.4 million and the United Kingdom with $345,000. Revenues from other territories such as Australia, Austria, France, Italy were moderate.
The first movie in the trilogy returned to certain countries once again for the 35th anniversary of the first film. In the United Kingdom, this was originally scheduled to begin on May 29, 2020, but due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
the opening dates of various cinemas were delayed, and on a cinema-by-cinema basis slowly reopened. Many cinemas also showed the rest of the trilogy, partially due to the coinciding 30th anniversary of ''Part III''.
Critical and public response
Marty McFly and Doc Brown were included in ''
Empire
An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...
''s 100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time, ranking No. 39 and No. 76 respectively.
Cultural impact
''Back to the Future'' Day
![McFlyTacoma](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/af/McFlyTacoma.jpg)
October 21, 2015, the date used for the setting of the future events during the first act of the second film, has been called "''Back to the Future'' Day" by the media.
The year 2015 also commemorated the 30th anniversary of the release of the original film.
Many promotions were planned to mark the passing of the date, with many playing to the depiction of the future in the film, including:
*
Universal Pictures
Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...
created a trailer for ''Jaws 19'', the fictional 3D film advertised in the future setting.
* Universal and
Mattel
Mattel, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment company founded in January 1945 and headquartered in El Segundo, California. The company has presence in 35 countries and territories and sells products in more ...
produced an advertisement for the hoverboard seen in the film.
*
Pepsi
Pepsi is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by PepsiCo. Originally created and developed in 1893 by Caleb Bradham and introduced as Brad's Drink, it was renamed as Pepsi-Cola in 1898, and then shortened to Pepsi in 1961.
History
Pepsi was ...
produced a limited run of the "Pepsi Perfect" soft drink, including the unique bottles, which sold out before October 21, 2015.
* The
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. The company sells automobi ...
allowed users configuring a
Ford Focus
The Ford Focus is a compact car (C-segment in Europe) manufactured by Ford Motor Company since 1998. It was created under Alexander Trotman's Ford 2000 plan, which aimed to globalize model development and sell one compact vehicle worldwide. The ...
on their website to add a Flux Capacitor as a $1.2 million option.
*
Nintendo
is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto, Japan. It develops video games and video game consoles.
Nintendo was founded in 1889 as by craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi and originally produce ...
released the game ''
Wild Gunman
is a light gun shooter game developed and published by Nintendo. Originally created as an electro-mechanical arcade game in 1974 by Gunpei Yokoi, it was adapted to a video game format for the Famicom console in 1984. It was released in 1985 a ...
'', which Marty is seen playing in the Cafe '80s scene, on the
Wii U
The Wii U ( ) is a home video game console developed by Nintendo as the successor to the Wii. Released in late 2012, it is the first eighth-generation video game console and competed with Microsoft's Xbox One and Sony's PlayStation 4.
The W ...
's
Virtual Console
A virtual console (VC) – also known as a virtual terminal (VT) – is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and display for a computer user interface. It is a feature of some Unix-like operating systems such as Linux, BSD, illumos, Unix ...
service.
* The October 22, 2015 edition of ''
USA Today
''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...
'' used a mock-front page which was a recreation of the one seen in the film on that date. The back of the mock page contains an advertisement for ''Jaws 19'', as well as ads for the 30th anniversary ''Back to the Future'' box set and
The Michael J. Fox Foundation
The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research is dedicated to finding a cure for Parkinson's disease (PD) established in 2000 by Michael J. Fox. It concentrates on funding research and ensuring the development of improved therapies for ...
. On the real front page, the ''USA Today'' blue dot is replaced with a drone camera like the one seen in the film. The print edition of this edition sold out in record time, according to ''USA Today''.
*
Nike
Nike often refers to:
* Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory
* Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment
Nike may also refer to:
People
* Nike (name), a surname and feminine given ...
revealed that they had recreated the
Nike Mag
The Nike MAG is a limited-edition shoe created by Nike Inc. It is a replica of a shoe featured in the film ''Back to the Future Part II''. The Nike Mag was originally released for sale in 2011 and again in 2016. Both launches were in limited quan ...
shoes that Michael J. Fox wears in the film, complete with self-lacing power laces (a 2011 design was based on the same shoes, but lacked the power laces).
Although the laces operated more slowly than those seen in the film, they were nonetheless shown to work as intended in an eight-second video featuring Fox wearing the shoes.
Pairs of the shoes were sold via auction in 2016 to benefit
The Michael J. Fox Foundation
The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research is dedicated to finding a cure for Parkinson's disease (PD) established in 2000 by Michael J. Fox. It concentrates on funding research and ensuring the development of improved therapies for ...
for
Parkinson's
Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms becom ...
Research.
*
Toyota
is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...
and
Universal Pictures
Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...
celebrated the 30th anniversary of the film series with a
Toyota Tacoma
The Toyota Tacoma is a pickup truck manufactured by the Japanese automobile manufacturer Toyota since 1995. The first-generation Tacoma (model years 1995 through 2004) was classified as a compact pickup. The second generation (model years 2005 t ...
Concept that was inspired by the original
1985 pickup that Toyota created for the
1985 film
The following is an overview of events in 1985 in film, including the highest-grossing films, award ceremonies and festivals, a list of films released and notable births and deaths.
Highest-grossing films (U.S.)
The top ten 1985 released films ...
. The 2016 Tacoma 4WD was recreated using the same features and black color paint trim, KC HiLite driving lamps (modified with LED lighting), modified headlights and taillights (matching the 1985 version), the Toyota badging to the truck's tailgate, as well as the same D-4S fuel injection, the 1985-inspired mudflaps, and customized license plates matching the 2015 vehicles in ''Part II''. The only difference between the 1985 original and the 2016 concept is the tires:
Goodyear was featured in the 1985 film, while
BF Goodrich
BFGoodrich is an American tire company. Originally part of the industrial conglomerate Goodrich Corporation, it was acquired in 1990 (along with Uniroyal, then The Uniroyal Goodrich Tire Company) by the French tire maker Michelin. BFGoodrich w ...
is used on the concept. Toyota notes that this is a one-off concept as there are no plans to offer it as a package or level trim. Toyota also produced a promotional video starring Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd and featuring many of the locations depicted in the film series, wherein the DeLorean's Mr. Fusion is used as a comparison for Toyota's hydrogen powered
Mirai.
* Universal re-released all three films on DVD and Blu-ray disc on October 20, 2015.
*
Telltale Games
Telltale Incorporated (trade name: Telltale Games) was an American video game developer based in San Rafael, California. The company was founded in July 2004 by former LucasArts developers Kevin Bruner, Dan Connors and Troy Molander, following ...
re-released their licensed ''
Back to the Future the Game
''Back to the Future: The Game'' is an Episodic video game, episodic Graphic adventure game, graphic adventure video game based on the Back to the Future (franchise), ''Back to the Future'' film franchise. The game was developed and published by ...
'' in a 30th Anniversary edition for newer consoles a week in advance of October 21. Several video games released
downloadable content
Downloadable content (DLC) is additional content created for an already released video game, distributed through the Internet by the game's publisher. It can either be added for no extra cost or it can be a form of video game monetization, enablin ...
related to ''Back to the Future'' to coincide with October 21, 2015, including ''
Rocket League
''Rocket League'' is a vehicular soccer video game developed and published by Psyonix. The game was first released for Windows and PlayStation 4 in July 2015, with ports for Xbox One and Nintendo Switch being released later on. In June 2016, ...
'' and ''
LittleBigPlanet 3
''LittleBigPlanet 3'' is a puzzle-platform game developed by Sumo Digital for the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4. It was released worldwide through November and December 2014, and it is the third entry in the main ''LittleBigPlanet'' series, an ...
''.
*''
Back to the Future: The Ultimate Visual History'' is an officially licensed book which includes 224 pages of behind-the-scenes stories, interviews, rare and never-before-seen images, concept art, storyboards, photos, and special removable replicas of paper items from the films,
written by Michael Klastorin with Randal Atamaniuk. The book was released on October 16, 2015.
Cast members appeared on ''
Today
Today (archaically to-day) may refer to:
* Day of the present, the time that is perceived directly, often called ''now''
* Current era, present
* The current calendar date
Arts, entertainment, and media Films
* ''Today'' (1930 film), a 1930 A ...
'' and ''
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'' is an American late-night talk show, created and hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC. The nightly hour-long show debuted on January 26, 2003, at Hollywood Masonic Temple in Hollywood, Los ...
'' on October 21, 2015. Nearly 2,000 theaters worldwide showed back-to-back screenings of the ''Back to the Future'' trilogy on October 21 and continuing through that weekend, which earned over $4.8M in single day ticket sales. Universal Studios offered location tours of the various filming locations around the date. The town of
Reston, Virginia
Reston is a census-designated place in Fairfax County, Virginia and a principal city of the Washington metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, Reston's population was 63,226.
Founded in 1964, Reston was influenced by the Garden City movem ...
, temporarily changed its name to "Hill Valley" to commemorate the series during its annual film festival.
Esquire Network
Esquire Network was an American pay television network that was a 50/50 joint venture between NBCUniversal and the Hearst Corporation. The network carried programs aimed at a metrosexual audience centering on travel, cooking, sports and fashion ...
aired the trilogy all day that day, plus all weekend.
File:BackToTheFutureDayBoiseCosPlay.jpg, alt=A cosplayer at a "Back to the Future Day" screening in Boise, Idaho, An Emmett Brown
Emmett Lathrop Brown, Ph.D., commonly referred to as Doc Brown, is a fictional scientist character in the ''Back to the Future'' franchise. In the world of the franchise, he is the inventor of the world's first and second time machines, the fi ...
cosplay
Cosplay, a portmanteau of "costume play", is an activity and performance art in which participants called cosplayers wear costumes and fashion accessories to represent a specific character. Cosplayers often interact to create a subculture, ...
er at a "''Back to the Future'' Day" screening in Boise, Idaho
Boise (, , ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho and is the county seat of Ada County. On the Boise River in southwestern Idaho, it is east of the Oregon border and north of the Nevada border. The downtown are ...
, 2015
File:2015 Back to the Future Day by The White House.jpg, White House
The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...
celebration of ''Back to the Future'' Day, 2015
Music
Home media box sets
2002 VHS and DVD release: "The Complete Trilogy"
In July 1997,
Universal Studios
Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...
announced that ''Back to the Future'' would be one of their first ten releases on the new
DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...
format, though it ended up being delayed for five years. The films were released as a box set on
VHS and
DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...
on December 17, 2002 in both
widescreen
Widescreen images are displayed within a set of aspect ratios (relationship of image width to height) used in film, television and computer screens. In film, a widescreen film is any film image with a width-to-height aspect ratio greater than t ...
(1.85:1) and
full screen (1.33:1) formats. The widescreen DVDs had to be reissued a year later because of framing errors in converting from
open matte
Open matte is a filming technique that involves matting out the top and bottom of the film frame in the movie projector (known as a ''soft matte'') for the widescreen theatrical release and then scanning the film without a matte (at Academy rat ...
to widescreen.
2010 DVD and Blu-ray release: "25th Anniversary Trilogy"
In June 2008, a special screening of the trilogy was held in
Celebration, Florida
Celebration is a master-planned community (MPC) and census-designated place (CDP) in Osceola County, Florida, United States. A suburb of Orlando, Celebration is located near Walt Disney World Resort and originally developed by The Walt Disney C ...
. Bob Gale told the crowd they were seeing the digitally remastered version that was going to be used for the
Blu-ray
The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...
version of the movies. The Blu-ray box set was released on October 26, 2010, and includes bonus features, such as a newly-produced six-part retrospective documentary titled ''Tales from the Future''. There have been numerous complaints about the R1 packaging, leading to the release of an instruction sheet on how to safely remove and insert discs.
2015 DVD and Blu-ray release: "30th Anniversary Trilogy"
On October 20, 2015, one day before the date of the fictional events transpiring in the 2015 segment of ''Part II,'' the trilogy was once again released on Blu-ray and DVD. A bonus disc was included, which featured new bonus material such as ''Outatime'' which is a look into the restoration of the time machine from 2012; ''Doc Brown Saves the World!'', a new short movie starring Christopher Lloyd; two episodes from ''The Animated Series''; two novelty commercials about "Jaws 19" and the "2015 Hoverboard"; and other additional features.
2020 DVD, Blu-ray, and Ultra HD Blu-ray release: "The Ultimate Trilogy"
In July 2020, a new release was announced via a press release for ''The Ultimate Trilogy,'' to celebrate the franchise's 35th anniversary, and featured a release on
Ultra HD Blu-ray
Ultra HD Blu-ray (4K Ultra HD, UHD-BD, or 4K Blu-ray) is a digital optical disc data storage format that is an enhanced variant of Blu-ray. Ultra HD Blu-ray discs are incompatible with existing standard Blu-ray players, though a traditional Bl ...
for the first time. The set included a new digitally remastered
4K picture,
Dolby Atmos
Dolby Atmos is a surround sound technology developed by Dolby Laboratories. It expands on existing surround sound systems by adding height channels, allowing sounds to be interpreted as three-dimensional objects with neither horizontal, nor verti ...
sound, and more previously unreleased content.
Other media
Board and card games
The ''Back to the Future: Back in Time'' board game was released in 2020. It is a fully cooperative game, in which each player is a character in the film, and must collect items to help Marty McFly and Doc to return from 1955 to their own time, as depicted in the first film in the trilogy.
In 2010,
Looney Labs
Looney Labs, Inc. is a small game company based in College Park, Maryland, United States. It is named after its founders, Andrew Looney and Kristin Looney, and is best known for creating the Fluxx line of card games. The company has three U.S. pat ...
introduced ''Back to the Future: The Card Game'', a strategy game using the same mechanics as the company's game ''
Chrononauts
''Chrononauts'' is a family of card games that simulates popular fictional ideas about how time travellers might alter history, drawing on sources like ''Back to the Future'' and the short stories collection ''Travels Through Time''. The game was ...
''. In the game, a timeline of cards are laid out in a grid with each era in the movies grouped together. Randomly distributed ID cards outline goals or timeline changes necessary to make sure the future character exists. The license for this game expired in 2012 and is no longer being produced.
Comic books
A comic book series was published by
Harvey Comics
Harvey Comics (also known as Harvey World Famous Comics, Harvey Publications, Harvey Comics Entertainment, Harvey Hits, Harvey Illustrated Humor, and Harvey Picture Magazines) was an American comic book publisher, founded in New York City by Alfr ...
in 1992 detailing further adventures of the animated series. Only seven issues were produced.
IDW published a mini-series which presents the first meeting of both Marty and Doc Brown and is written by co-screenwriter Bob Gale, which was released in stores on October 21, 2015, the
same date that Marty travels with Doc Brown to the future depicted in the storyline for Part II. In issue 3, it was revealed that it had become an ongoing monthly comic due to popular demand.
Beginning in issue #6, the original format of one or two untold stories per issue was replaced with a multi-issue ongoing story arc. The original subtitle for the comic, "Untold Tales and Alternate Timelines", was used for the trade paperback which contained the first five comics in the series. The series has now gone on to what IDW calls "chapter 2" of the series with "Tales from the Time Train." This is a series of stories detailing where Doc and the Brown family went after time traveling at the end of ''Back to the Future Part III''. Other mini-series published by IDW include "Citizen Brown", which adapts the
Telltale video game, and "Biff to the Future", which depicts Biff Tannen's rise to power after being given the almanac by his future self. The latter is also co-written by Gale.
''
Transformers/Back to the Future'' is a four-issue crossover comic miniseries published by IDW Publishing, to commemorate the 35th anniversaries of ''Back to the Future'' and
Hasbro
Hasbro, Inc. (; a syllabic abbreviation of its original name, Hassenfeld Brothers) is an American multinational conglomerate holding company incorporated and headquartered in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Hasbro owns the trademarks and products of ...
's ''
Transformers
''Transformers'' is a media franchise produced by American toy company Hasbro and Japanese toy company Takara Tomy. It primarily follows the Autobots and the Decepticons, two alien robot factions at war that can transform into other forms, suc ...
'' franchise. It was published from October 7, 2020, to May 12, 2021.
A Japanese
light novel
A light novel (, Hepburn: ''raito noberu'') is a style of young adult novel primarily targeting high school and middle school students. The term "light novel" is a ''wasei-eigo'', or a Japanese term formed from words in the English languag ...
adaptation was announced in August 2021.
Books
Each film in the trilogy also received a novelization that expanded on the movies by adding scenes, characters, and dialog, often culled from early-draft scripts.
In 2012, Hasslein Books released ''A Matter of Time: The Unauthorized Back to the Future Lexicon'', written by Rich Handley. The book was released in cooperation with BTTF.com, the official Back to the Future website. A second volume, ''Back in Time: The Unauthorized Back to the Future Chronology'', by Greg Mitchell and Rich Handley, was released in 2013.
''Back to the Future: The Ultimate Visual History'' is an officially licensed book which includes 224 pages of behind-the-scenes stories, interviews, rare and never-before-seen images, concept art, storyboards, photos, and special removable replicas of paper items from the films.
The book was written by Michael Klastorin, who was the production publicist on Back to the Future Part II and Back to the Future Part III, with Randal Atamaniuk. The book includes a foreword by
Michael J. Fox
Michael Andrew Fox (born June 9, 1961), known professionally as Michael J. Fox, is a Canadian-American retired actor. Beginning his career in the 1970s, he rose to prominence portraying Alex P. Keaton on the NBC sitcom ''Family Ties'' (1 ...
, preface by
Christopher Lloyd
Christopher Allen Lloyd (born October 22, 1938) is an American actor. He has appeared in many theater productions, films, and on television since the 1960s. He is known for portraying Dr. Emmett "Doc" Brown in the ''Back to the Future'' tril ...
, introduction by
Bob Gale
Michael Robert Gale (born May 25, 1951) is an American screenwriter, comic book writer, film producer and director. He is best known for co-writing the science fiction comedy film ''Back to the Future'' with his writing partner Robert Zemec ...
and an afterword by
Robert Zemeckis
Robert Lee Zemeckis (born May 14, 1952) is an American filmmaker. He first came to public attention as the director of the action-adventure romantic comedy ''Romancing the Stone'' (1984), the science-fiction comedy ''Back to the Future'' film tr ...
.
It was released on October 16, 2015, to coincide with
''Back to the Future'' Day, and was published by
Titan Books
Titan Publishing Group is the publishing division of Titan Entertainment Group, which was established in 1981. The books division has two main areas of publishing: film and television tie-ins and cinema reference books; and graphic novels and co ...
in the UK and
Harper Design
HarperCollins Publishers LLC is one of the Big Five English-language publishing companies, alongside Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, and Macmillan. The company is headquartered in New York City and is a subsidiary of News Co ...
in the US. It was reissued on November 3, 2020, with added contents, to commemorate the 35th anniversary of the trilogy.
Video games
Various video games based on the ''Back to the Future'' movies have been released over the years for home video game systems, including the
Atari ST
The Atari ST is a line of personal computers from Atari Corporation and the successor to the Atari 8-bit family. The initial model, the Atari 520ST, had limited release in April–June 1985 and was widely available in July. It was the first pers ...
,
ZX Spectrum
The ZX Spectrum () is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer that was developed by Sinclair Research. It was released in the United Kingdom on 23 April 1982, and became Britain's best-selling microcomputer.
Referred to during development as t ...
,
Commodore 64
The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7–10, 1982, in Las Vegas). It has been listed in the Guinness ...
,
Master System
The is an 8-bit
third-generation home video game console manufactured by Sega. It was originally a remodeled export version of the Sega Mark III, the third iteration of the SG-1000 series of consoles, which was released in Japan in 1985 and ...
,
Genesis
Genesis may refer to:
Bible
* Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind
* Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book of ...
,
Nintendo Entertainment System
The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit third-generation home video game console produced by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan in 1983 as the commonly known as the The NES, a redesigned version, was released in America ...
,
Super Famicom
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), commonly shortened to Super NES or Super Nintendo, is a 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan and South Korea, 1991 in North America, 1992 in Euro ...
,
Microsoft Windows
Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...
,
macOS
macOS (; previously OS X and originally Mac OS X) is a Unix operating system developed and marketed by Apple Inc. since 2001. It is the primary operating system for Apple's Mac computers. Within the market of desktop and lapt ...
,
PlayStation 3
The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. The successor to the PlayStation 2, it is part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. It was first released on Novemb ...
,
PlayStation 4
The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013 in ...
,
Wii
The Wii ( ) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released on November 19, 2006, in North America and in December 2006 for most other Regional lockout, regions of the world. It is Nintendo's fifth major ho ...
,
iOS
iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone; the term also includes ...
,
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox series. It competed with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation ...
and
Xbox One
The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third base console in the Xbox series of video game consoles. It was first released in North America, parts of ...
platforms.
''
Lego Dimensions
''Lego Dimensions'' is a Lego-themed action-adventure platform crossover video game developed by Traveller's Tales and published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, for the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Wii U, Xbox One and Xbox 360. It fo ...
'' (2015) features two ''Back to the Future''-themed
toy packs. The Level Pack adds a bonus level that adapts the events of the first film and includes a Marty McFly Minifigure, along with a constructible DeLorean and Hoverboard. The Fun Pack includes a Doc Brown Minifigure and a constructible Time Train from ''Part III''. Both unlock access to an in-game open world set in Hill Valley. Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd reprise their roles as Marty McFly and Emmett "Doc" Brown respectively. A downloadable content pack for ''
Planet Coaster
''Planet Coaster'' is a construction and management simulation video game developed and published by Frontier Developments for Microsoft Windows. It was released worldwide on 17 November 2016. Frontier had previously worked in the amusement par ...
'' (2016), titled the ''Back to the Future Time Machine Construction Kit'', includes customizable in-game replicas of the DeLorean time machine.
Episodic video game
''
Back to the Future: The Game'' (2010) was released from December 22, 2010, to June 23, 2011, developed and published by
Telltale Games
Telltale Incorporated (trade name: Telltale Games) was an American video game developer based in San Rafael, California. The company was founded in July 2004 by former LucasArts developers Kevin Bruner, Dan Connors and Troy Molander, following ...
. The game is an
episodic graphic adventure
An adventure game is a video game genre in which the player assumes the role of a protagonist in an interactive story driven by exploration and/or puzzle-solving. The genre's focus on story allows it to draw heavily from other narrative-based m ...
, and takes place in an alternate timeline based on the original trilogy. It was released as five
episodes
Episodes may refer to:
* Episode
An episode is a narrative unit within a larger dramatic work or documentary production, such as a series intended for radio, television or streaming consumption.
The noun ''episode'' is derived from the Gree ...
,
with Christopher Lloyd reprising his role as Emmett "Doc" Brown, Claudia Wells reprising her role as Jennifer Parker, and Michael J. Fox making cameo appearances in the final episode.
A. J. Locascio
A. J. LoCascio is an American actor, director and producer. He is known for his roles as Prince Lotor in '' Voltron: Legendary Defender'' and Marty McFly in '' Back to the Future: The Game''.
Early life
Locascio grew up in New Jersey before mo ...
provided the voice for Marty McFly, and Bob Gale assisted with the script. Thomas Wilson reprised his role as Biff Tannen in the 2015 re-release.
The plot of the video game depicts Marty traveling back to 1931 to help Doc, who is in trouble again. The video game depicts several trips by Marty and Doc back and forth from 1931 to the present, due to multiple disruptions to the timeline. In several separate differing timelines, various altered outcomes are shown for the McFly family, and then separately for the entire Hill Valley region. At the conclusion of the game, the timeline is largely restored by Marty and Doc, although with some small differences from the "original" timeline.
Pinball
Two pinball adaptations of the film trilogy were released. The first pinball adaptation was a physical one produced by
Data East
, also abbreviated as DECO, was a Japanese video game, pinball and electronic engineering company. The company was in operation from 1976 to 2003, and released 150 video game titles. Its main headquarters were located in Suginami, Tokyo. The Am ...
, available in 1990, and titled ''
Back to the Future: The Pinball''. Over two decades later,
Zen Studios
Zen Studios is a Hungarian video game developer and publisher of interactive entertainment software with headquarters in Budapest, Hungary and offices in the United States. It is known for its game franchises, ''Pinball FX'' and ''Zen Pinball'', a ...
developed and released a new, digital pinball adaptation in 2017, available as add-on content for ''
Pinball FX 3
Pinball games are a family of games in which a ball is propelled into a specially designed table where it bounces off various obstacles, scoring points either en route or when it comes to rest. Historically the board was studded with nails call ...
'' along with two other tables based on iconic classic films from Universal Pictures, ''Jaws'' and ''E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial''. The latter table behaves differently than the original Data East version and features 3-D animated figures and visual effects that are impossible to reproduce on a physical table.
Musical
''Back to the Future: The Musical'' is a
stage musical
Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movement ...
with music and lyrics by
Alan Silvestri
Alan Anthony Silvestri (born March 26, 1950) is an American composer and conductor of film and television scores. He has been associated with director Robert Zemeckis since 1984, composing music for all of his feature films including the ''Back ...
and
Glen Ballard
Basil Glen Ballard Jr. (born May 1, 1953) is an American songwriter, lyricist, and record producer. He is best known for co-writing and producing Alanis Morissette's 1995 album ''Jagged Little Pill'', which won Grammy Awards for Grammy Award fo ...
, and a
book
A book is a medium for recording information in the form of writing or images, typically composed of many pages (made of papyrus, parchment, vellum, or paper) bound together and protected by a cover. The technical term for this physical arr ...
by Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale, adapted from their original screenplay. The show features original music alongside hits from the film, including "
The Power of Love" and "
Johnny B. Goode
"Johnny B. Goode" is a 1958 rock song written and first recorded by Chuck Berry. Released as a single, it peaked at number two on ''Billboard'' magazine's Hot R&B Sides chart and number eight on its pre-Hot 100 chart.
"Johnny B. Goode" is con ...
".
The musical originally was slated to make its world première in London's
West End in 2015, the year to which the film trilogy's characters traveled in ''Part II''.
However, after director
Jamie Lloyd
Jamie Lloyd is a fictional character and one of the main protagonists of the ''Halloween'' franchise. Introduced in '' Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers'' as the series' new protagonist after Jamie Lee Curtis declined to return as Laurie ...
left the production in August 2014, due to "creative differences" with Zemeckis, the production's release date was pushed to a 2016 opening. In May 2019, it was announced the show would receive its world premiere at
Manchester Opera House
The Opera House in Quay Street, Manchester, England, is a 1,920-seater commercial touring theatre that plays host to touring musicals, ballet, concerts and a Christmas pantomime. It is a Grade II listed building. The Opera House is one of the mai ...
in February 2020, ahead of an expected
West End transfer. The
cast recording
A cast recording is a recording of a stage musical that is intended to document the songs as they were performed in the show and experienced by the audience. An original cast recording or OCR, as the name implies, features the voices of the sho ...
was initially set to be released on November 26, 2021, but was ultimately released on March 11, 2022.
A
Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
production is set to commence in 2023.
Automotive commercials
In 2015, Fox and Lloyd starred alongside popular
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
science personality Go Tech Yourself in an extended
Toyota
is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...
commercial for Toyota's new
fuel cell vehicle
A fuel cell vehicle (FCV) or fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) is an electric vehicle that uses a fuel cell, sometimes in combination with a small battery or supercapacitor, to power its onboard electric motor. Fuel cells in vehicles generate elec ...
, the
Mirai, entitled ''Fueled by the Future''. The commercial doubled as a tribute to the franchise and illustrated how the idea of converting trash into fuel had become reality. The commercial was released on October 21—the same date to which Marty, Doc and Jennifer traveled in ''Back to the Future Part II''.
Theme park ride
''Back to the Future the Ride'' was a simulator ride based on and inspired by the ''Back to the Future'' films and is a mini-sequel to the 1990s ''Back to the Future Part III''. The original attraction opened on May 2, 1991, at
Universal Studios Florida
Universal Studios Florida (also known as Universal Studios or USF) is a theme park located in Orlando, Florida. Primarily themed to movies, television and other aspects of the entertainment industry, the park opened to the public on June 7, 1990 ...
. It also opened on June 2, 1993, at
Universal Studios Hollywood
Universal Studios Hollywood is a film studio and theme park
An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, as well as other events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusemen ...
and on March 31, 2001, at
Universal Studios Japan
is a theme park located in Osaka, Japan. Opened on March 31, 2001, it is one of six Universal Parks & Resorts, Universal Studios theme parks worldwide and was the first to open outside the United States. The park is owned and operated by a whol ...
. The rides in the United States have since been replaced by
The Simpsons Ride
''The Simpsons'' Ride is a motion simulator ride located in the Springfield areas of both Universal Studios Florida and Universal Studios Hollywood. Based on the animated television series ''The Simpsons'', the ride was announced in 2007 as a r ...
. The ride in Japan remained operational until May 31, 2016.
Documentaries
In the fall of 2015, after a successful
Kickstarter
Kickstarter is an American public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative projects to life". As of July 2021, ...
project, the ''
Back in Time'' documentary film was released. The film features interviews with the members of the cast and crew along with the cultural impact of the trilogy 30 years later. In 2016, the ''OUTATIME: Saving the DeLorean Time Machine'' documentary film was released and presents the efforts of Bob Gale,
Universal Studios
Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...
, and a team of fans as they work to restore one of the original screen-used DeLorean time machines. Like the ''Back in Time'' documentary, ''OUTATIME'' was also successfully funded by a Kickstarter project. A 2021 documentary, titled ''Expedition: Back to the Future'', featured Josh Gates and Christopher Lloyd searching for and restoring an original DeLorean used in the film, with appearances from several original cast members.
Notes
References
External links
*
Interview with cast and directorreunited on ''
The Today Show
''Today'' (also called ''The Today Show'' or informally, ''NBC News Today'') is an American news and talk morning television show that airs weekdays from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on NBC. The program debuted on January 14, 1952. It was ...
'' for the 25th anniversary of the release of the first movie
{{DEFAULTSORT:Back to the Future Trilogy
1980s science fiction comedy films
1990s science fiction comedy films
American science fiction comedy films
American film series
American science fantasy films
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Film franchises introduced in 1985
Flying cars in fiction
Science fiction film franchises
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