Robert Zemeckis is leaving Back to the Future in the past. The filmmaker has long insisted that there would never be a Back to the Future 4 or a Back to the Future reboot or remake of his 1985 time-traveling comedy starring Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd. But in a new interview, Zemeckis revealed he is open to reviving the franchise â by bringing Back to the Future: The Musical from the stage to the big screen.
âI would like to do Back to the Future: The Musical,â Zemeckis said on the Happy Sad Confused podcast in an interview for his new movie, Here. âJust like [Mel Brooks] did with The Producers. I would love to do that. I think that would be great.â Zemeckis added that he âfloated that out to the folks at Universal, but they donât get it. So thereâs nothing I can do.â
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Zemeckis joked that the studio, which released the Back to the Future trilogy between 1985 and 1990, asks him âevery six monthsâ for a Back to the Future sequel or revival. Thatâs âjust an exaggeration,â Zemeckis clarified, who added that Universal executives often ask: ââIsnât there anything we can figure out to do here? Isnât there anything we can do?ââ
âYou know, we have to say, âThere are different things that might work.â Something like that. But to remake the movie or to suggest that thereâs a Back to the Future 4, it just isnât in the cards,â Zemeckis said.
The Tony Award-nominated Back to the Future: The Musical debuted in 2020 and has had runs in Londonâs West End and Broadway in New York City. An ongoing North American tour is set to conclude in summer 2025 before opening in Japan.
Based on the 1985 original co-written by Zemeckis and Bob Gale, the musical adaptation features a book by Gale, music by trilogy composer Alan Silvestri, and lyrics by six-time Grammy award winning songwriter Glen Ballard. In addition to new versions of the songs included on the Back to the Future soundtrack â âThe Power of Loveâ by Huey Lewis and the News, âEarth Angelâ by Marvin Berry & The Starlighters, and Chuck Berryâs âJohnny B. Goodeâ â the musical features numbers like âItâs Only a Matter of Time,â Marty McFlyâs âGot No Future,â and a company rendition of Huey Lewis and the Newsâ âBack in Time.â
In 2015, during the 30th anniversary of the 1985 original, Zemeckis said that a Back to the Future remake âcanât happen until both Bob and I are dead.â
Gale previously revealed that Universal canât develop a sequel or remake without Zemeckis and Gale due to contracts â and the duo are âvery proud of the trilogy as it stands and we want to leave it as is,â as Gale explained in 2008. âIâm sure Universal would love it if we were to say to them, âHey, letâs do another one,ââ he said at the time, âbut we donât think we could ever make a fourth one that would live up to how great the first three are, so weâre going to leave well enough alone.â