Michael J. Fox Isn't Worried About A Back To The Future Reboot

You probably don't need me to tell you that some people get a bit sniffy about remakes, reboots, prequels, and belated sequels. I'm definitely one of them — when I read about the upcoming "Beetlejuice 2" recently, I rolled my eyes so hard that one of them almost popped out of its socket. The typical reaction from many detractors is they're a lazy cash grab from studios that would rather rehash a well-known existing IP than take a chance on something original.

While there may be some truth to that, it doesn't tell the full story. If a new entry is done well, it can breathe life back into a beloved franchise. Just take "Casino Royale," which successfully rebooted James Bond after the series fell into the doldrums and looked like a total joke after "Austin Powers" lampooned it so wickedly. Then of course there was "Mad Max: Fury Road" which was not only the best film in the series, but one of the greatest action movies of all time.

More recently, "Cobra Kai" got it right by flipping the perspective to one of the baddies from "The Karate Kid," making its original hero a bit of a dickhead, and introducing a roster of well-drawn teens for younger audiences to root for. Also tapping into that rich seam of material from the '80s was "Top Gun: Maverick," improving on Tony Scott's gung-ho blockbuster by striking a balance between nostalgia and developing the surviving characters in believable new directions.

The common thread here is that all these successes revitalized or reinvented IPs that were ailing, dated, or not exactly brilliant movies to begin with. I don't recall much of an outcry about any of them potentially tarnishing the legacy of the original. But what happens when someone wants to reboot a nailed-on classic like "Back to the Future?"

With the recent release of "Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie," the popular actor, who has been battling Parkinson's disease since his diagnosis at the age of 29, has been doing the rounds recently on the interview circuit. Since his career was sadly curtailed by the condition, his heyday invariably comes up: The breakthrough role in "Family Ties," for which he won three Emmys; a string of hit comedy movies like "Teen Wolf," "The Secret of My Success" and, of course, the films for which he will always be remembered, the "Back to the Future" trilogy.

When it comes to the question of rebooting the original film, which was one of the biggest hits of the '80s, Fox is forthright, telling Variety: "I'm not fanatical... Do what you want. It's your movie. I got paid already." That might seem like a blunt attitude from the man who gave us the movie's breezy teen protagonist, who just wanted to play guitar, ride his skateboard, and hang out with his girlfriend. But he has his reasons beyond already cashing the cheque:

"I don't think it needs to be [rebooted]... I think Bob [Zemeckis, director] and Bob [Gale, screenwriter] 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."

He has a strong point. Like "Jaws," "Back to the Future" is an almost perfect movie. Each time I see it, I try to spot a line that could be omitted or a scene that could be shorter or cut altogether, and I always come up lacking. The two sequels aren't as flawless, but taken as a whole, they make one of the greatest trilogies ever made.

In the current era of countless remakes and reboots, the topic of another "Back to the Future" movie has been rumbling around for a while now. As recently as last year, Michael J. Fox himself suggested a way to reboot it for a new generation. He told ET in October 2022: "I actually had this thought that if they did the movie again, they should do it with a girl as Marty. There's something about it that connects with people on every level. I just feel like it will come around again."

Flipping the gender of the protagonist in iconic franchises has had some success in recent years. It worked brilliantly in "Mad Max: Fury Road" with Charlize Theron's Furiosa relegating Tom Hardy's Max to almost a supporting character, and "Ghostbusters: Afterlife" gave us an appealing young female lead who was just as adept at banishing the ghosts of the original crew as she was the film's malevolent spirits. "No Time to Die" made the bold move to give Lashana Lynch the famous 007 designation but sadly didn't give her much to do.

Whether making Marty a girl would work in a hypothetical "Back to the Future" reboot depends on how the original story is handled. The movie navigated some dicey Oedipal territory: Time-traveling back to the '50s, Marty accidentally interrupts the incident that makes his parents fall in love, and matters become complicated when his teenage mom gets the hots for him instead.

It stayed just the right side of icky thanks to strong writing and excellent performances from Michael J. Fox and Lea Thompson, but I could see that plot getting changed or scrapped altogether nowadays, especially if the gender roles were reversed. Who wants to see a guy hitting on his future daughter?

Christopher Lloyd, who played eccentric scientist Doc Brown which such gusto in the "Back to the Future" trilogy, said he was down with the idea of another movie in the same Variety interview: "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... But if somebody has a brilliant idea that would justify a fourth film it might happen."

He has even speculated that a new film should tackle contemporary topics like climate change. As well-meaning as that idea is, I'm not sure it would work in the context of the franchise. While the original poked fun at the social attitudes of the '50s and '80s and the sequel imagined a comically dystopian future, the key to the trilogy's appeal and longevity is its optimistic timelessness.

For all this reboot talk, "Back to the Future" fans don't need to worry anytime soon. Executive producer Frank Marshall shot down any notion of a reboot back in 2016, and Robert Zemeckis has categorically stated: "That can't happen until both Bob [Gale] and I [am] dead. And then I'm sure they'll do it unless there's a way our estates can stop it."

So it seems that the franchise is a long way from a new movie and the most that sequel/reboot/remake skeptics have to grumble about is the upcoming Broadway debut of "Back to the Future: The Musical." But that is in safe hands. It is written by original screenwriter Bob Gale with music from Alan Silvestri, who provided the unforgettable original score, and the show won the Olivier Award for best new musical during its run in London's West End.