There is yet more evidence that you really can't go home, even if that is where your
dreamy-eyed mom lives, as it looks like we won't be going back to Back to the Future
any time soon. And while we've certainly heard as much from Christopher Lloyd, Michael J.
Fox, and director Robert Zemeckis, the news now comes from two beloved supporting actors:
Claudia Wells and James Tolkan.
Wells, who played Marty's girlfriend Jennifer in the first Back to the Future, before being
replaced by Elisabeth Shue, and Tolkan, who portrayed high school principal Mister Strickland,
were interviewed in a virtual panel on September 20th, 2020. When the inevitable moment came
and the pair were asked about the chances of a new franchise entry, they had their answers
locked in like Einstein in the front seat of the DeLorean.
"We've done it, it's done. One, two, and three, please. We're quite happy with that."
The OG Jennifer added that the trilogy's screenwriter has been consistent with his answer, saying,
"Bob Gale has always been very adamant about, 'There is no Back to the Future IV.'"
Wells also shared a story about Christopher Lloyd telling the creator of Brokeback to
the Future, a satirical viral trailer edit from 2006 that added some Brokeback Mountain-style
romance to the original Back to the Future film, that his remix was as close to a fourth
film as we're ever going to get.
"Chris looked at him, he goes, 'That's Back to the Future IV, because it's not going to
happen otherwise.' Everyone says no."
Tolkan and Wells are just two more voices in a seemingly endless chorus of folks involved
with the original trilogy, screaming into an unfillable void of fan expectations that
no, there are no plans for another Back to the Future movie.
Bob Gale, who co-wrote Back to the Future and both of its sequels, put the decision
into firmly worded focus earlier this year. Speaking to the BBC with the verve and focus
of a man who's been asked the same question over and over again for 30 years, he said,
"We already made a lot of money. You know, you don't sell your kids into prostitution.
It was the wrong thing to do. We put 'The End' at the end of part three. Plus, Michael
J. Fox isn't in the shape to do a movie, and nobody wants to see Marty McFly having Parkinson's
disease, and nobody wants to see another actor playing Marty McFly if it's supposed to be
a continuation. We've already seen the Star Wars movies and Luke Skywalker is an old man.
That can be a little bit painful, right?"
Robert Zemeckis, meanwhile, has been nothing if not clear about the odds of another Back
to the Future sequel, stating at different points that it would be hubris to try to add
to the story, and that a remake would be "outrageous." He told the Telegraph in 2015,
"It's like saying, 'Let's remake Citizen Kane. Who are we going to get to play Kane?' What
folly, what insanity is that? Why would anyone do that?"
In case his point wasn't clear, he told Bad Taste in 2018,
"There will never ever be, in the most absolute way, a Back to the Future IV. There will be
no more Back to the Future."
"Great Scott!"
As icing on the cake, Tom Wilson, who played Biff in all three of the original movies,
went so far as to write a comedy song about how Back to the Future Part IV is never, ever
going to happen. You can't make it much more clear than that.
So, we have Back to the Future parts one through three, but what if that isn't enough? What
if 343 minutes of time traveling antics just doesn't hit the spot? Luckily, fans of the
series in need of a fresh hit can always turn to that old reliable source of nostalgia feels:
The extended universe.
At the basic end of the spectrum, there's that noblest of '90s cash grabs, the Saturday
morning cartoon. From September of 1991 to December of the following year, a Back to
the Future animated series ran for 26 episodes on the CBS network.
Characterized by Bob Gale as non-canonical, "what-if" universe adventures, it explored
Marty and Doc's family-friendly escapades through history. Fun fact: It's the first
national TV series to feature acclaimed science guy Bill Nye, starring in educational live-action
segments at the end of each episode.
Additionally, for the discerning collector, Gale co-wrote an official sequel series to
the movies, published in comic book form in 2015. Initially published as Back to the Future:
Untold Tales and Alternate Timelines, the series was pretty much exactly what the title
implies, a collection of sequel stories taking place after the events of the movies, as well
as possible scenarios from parallel realities.
And if video games are more your speed, Telltale Games released an episodic adventure in 2010,
which even featured the voices of Christopher Lloyd and, in a couple of cameos, Michael
J. Fox. In short, there's still plenty of Future to go back to.
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