Credit: Inside the magicWhen the question of whether a fourth Back to the Future film will ever happen crops up, it feels like we’re trapped in some sort of time loop.
Coupled with newly emerging rumors, the conversation has done the rounds for years. Whether it’s Back to the Future 4 or a reboot of the original 1985 film, fans will always wonder whether the beloved film trilogy is destined to be tainted by Hollywood.
Recent years have seen the likes of Michael J. Fox (Marty McFly) and Christopher Lloyd (Doc Brown) address the possibility. While Fox says he’s unlikely to return, Lloyd said he’s open to the possibility.
Back to the Future co-writer/co-producer Bob Gale, however, has some strong views about it. If we trawl through all the comments he’s made about a fourth film over the years, we’d only be contributing to that time loop we talked about earlier.
Now, while speaking at Universal Fan Fest Nights on Friday (via People), Gale revealed once again, that he does not want Back to the Future 4, or a reboot, or a prequel, or a television series, or even a spinoff, to ever happen. “I don’t know why they keep talking about that!” he said. “I mean, do they think that if they say it enough times, we’re going to actually do it?”
“I mean, it’s like they know in every interview people say, ‘Oh Bob, when is there going to be a Back to the Future 4?’ Never,” he continued. “‘When is there going to be a prequel?’ Never. ‘When is there going to be a spinoff?’ Never. It’s just fine the way it is. It’s not perfect, but as Bob [Robert] Zemeckis used to say, ‘It’s perfect enough.’”
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With that said, he joked that if “corporate America” forced him to make a new film, then he could be convinced:
“If the juggernaut of corporate America or corporate international mishigas says, ‘If you don’t agree to this, we’re going to kill your children,’ alright, well, no, we don’t want our children killed’. But Steven Spielberg, of course, he’s got to sign off on it, too. And Steven, just like Steven won’t allow another E.T., he totally respects the fact that we don’t want any more Back to the Future. He gets it and always stood behind that. And thank you, Steven.”
It seems Gale is happy enough for new fans to discover Back to the Future.
“What’s so great is seeing the next generation of kids that are being touched by this and [say], ‘Gee, my parents were once kids,’” he said. “That’s why I think it keeps on going, because every kid comes to that realization at some point, and we made a movie about that. So I love the fact that people are newly discovering it.”
Related: ‘Back to the Future’ Sequels May Not Exist in Same Timeline as First Movie, Cast Member Suggests
What Does Robert Zemeckis Think of a New Back to the Future?
But does Back to the Future director/co-writer Robert Zemeckis share Gale’s views? Well, yes and no. While he has also made his feelings on the matter clear a number of times, last year, he said he would like to direct a big-screen adaptation of the critically acclaimed, award-winning Back to the Future: The Musical, which Gale wrote.
When asked about potential future Back to the Future projects while on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, the director said, “I would like to do Back to the Future: The Musical. I would love to do that. I think that would be great.”
In his recent interview at Universal Fan Fest Nights, Gale said of the musical, “We’ve made Back to the Future: The Musical, which is still playing in London, it’s on a U.S. tour. We just opened it in Tokyo in Japanese, and they’re just as crazy, or crazier, over there about that whole Back to the Future as anywhere else. So, I mean, I’m humbled and blown away by the fact that Bob [Zemeckis] and I came up with something that has this much staying power.”
While it seems that the Back to the Future trilogy will never get a follow-up of any kind, there’s still plenty of tie-in media. Gale previously said the cartoon, comics, and video games aren’t canon with the films but exist in an alternate “what-if”-type reality.
How do you feel about Gale’s comments? Would you like to see another Back to the Future? Or is it best left in the past? Let us know in the comments!