The Back to the Future trilogy is a staple of late-80s/early-90s American culture and is considered one of the most beloved and successful trilogies of American sci-fi cinema. So it stands to reason that somewhere at this very moment, there's a dollar-obsessed movie exec at Universal Pictures eyeing the property for a reboot in some form or fashion. Yet, while such a reboot would likely be a big box-office draw, there are some significant hurdles that need to be overcome before the project could even take flight.
If a reboot of Doc Brown and Marty McFly's time-traveling shenanigans were to ever come to pass, don't expect Fox to shed any tears. In a recent profile with Variety, it sounds as if Fox doesn't have any possessive feelings toward the franchise. “I’m not fanatical. Do what you want. It’s your movie. I got paid already.”
However, while Fox wouldn't be upset by the news of a reboot, he doesn't think there's a need for one as it wouldn't be able to improve upon the original. “I don’t think it needs to be,” Fox added. “I think (screenwriters) Bob [Zemeckis] and Bob [Gale] have been really smart about that. I don’t think it needs rebooting because are you going to clarify something? You’re going to find a better way to tell the story? I doubt it.”
On the opposite side of the fence, actor Christopher Lloyd let it be known that would be game for another turn as Doc Brown. “I would love to do a sequel, but I think Bob Zemeckis and [producer Steven] Spielberg felt that they told the story in the three episodes,” he says. “But if somebody has a brilliant idea that would justify a fourth film it might happen.”
A few years back, Bob Gale was a guest on the Collider podcast and shared his thoughts on why they'll never be a reboot or sequel. "...we’ve seen this repeatedly with sequels that go back to the well after many, many years, and they go ‘Ah, well, The Phantom Menace, maybe my life would have been better if I hadn’t seen it...We have an understanding with Spielberg and Amblin that there would never be another Back to the Future movie without our blessing or being involved. So it’s not going to happen."
Still, it's Hollywood and stranger things have happened before. Do you want to see a Back to the Future reboot? Let us know in the comment section below.
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