Michael J. Fox hit the nail on the head with his comments about a Back to the Future reboot. The iconic actor recently sat down with Variety to promote his new documentary Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie on Apple TV+. During the interview, Fox shared his thoughts about the Back To The Future franchise and how a reboot would be redundant and unnecessary. On the topic, he poignantly stated, “You think you’re going to find a better way to tell the story? I doubt it.”
Fox also mentioned in the Variety interview that he will be “cheering from the side” for an upcoming Back to the Future Broadway musical. While Fox doesn’t envision himself in another on-screen performance anytime soon due to his Parkinson’s disease, he revealed that he “would love to do a sequel” for another Back to the Future installment. He also announced that “if somebody has a brilliant idea that would justify a fourth film it might happen.” Fox officially retired from acting in 2021 because of his declining health. He most recently appeared on the popular television shows Curb Your Enthusiasm in 2017, Designated Survivor in 2018, and The Good Fight in 2020.
Michael J. Fox Is Right About Back To The Future’s Reboot Problem
Michael J. Fox is exactly right about the problem with a Back to the Future reboot, although he claims to be indifferent if Hollywood decided to actually produce it. Rebooting the movie without any of its original cast would essentially be a meaningless endeavor, one that would use the fame and nostalgia of the original Back to the Future franchise to draw in modern audiences for purely financial gains. Fox’s main argument is that there’s just no need for a Back to the Future reboot because it wouldn’t add or enhance anything to the original story.
Fox credits director Robert Zemeckis and producer Steven Spielberg for being smart about the trilogy that they created. He feels that they had accomplished everything that they had wanted to in the three Back to the Future movies and that nothing needs to be changed. In fact, changing anything about the original movies would just make things worse. Fox argues that if there’s no good reason to retell the story, and the original is already a major success, then a reboot couldn’t possibly offer audiences anything else besides different actors and newer cameras.
Reboots Should Be About Improving The Original – But Usually Aren’t
Fox’s sentiments not only apply to his beloved Back to the Future trilogy, but also to the central issue with reboots in general. If it’s not possible to improve the original movie with the reboot, then the reboot serves no purpose to an audience. Back to the Future is already an iconic movie and doesn’t have enough areas that need improvement to warrant a reboot. Most reboots that try to improve the original usually fail in their attempts and are better off left alone. Michael J. Fox couldn’t have said it better in his recent interview, daring anyone to claim that they can make a better Back to the Future than the original cast and crew.
