Rumor has it that Back to the Future 4 might be happening, but fans probably shouldn't get themselves too excited for the franchise's future.
Marty McFly and Doc Brown took their last trip in the DeLorean in 1990, rounding out one of the most iconic trilogies in sci-fi movie history.
Is Back to the Future 4 Real?
Rumors of Back to the Future 4 releasing in 2025 have stirred up after a trailer posted on YouTube by KH Studio accrued almost two million views, purporting a new movie is coming to theaters in 2025.
The trailer sees Tom Holland step into Michael J. Fox's role as Marty McFly while Robert Downey Jr. takes over from Christopher Lloyd as Doc Brown in a mix of footage from their other movies and AI generation.
Holland and Downey Jr. have long been featured in fan-made trailers and posters for Back to the Future 4. Regardless, there have been no signs of a sequel to the sci-fi franchise happening, either with the MCU stars or any other cast.
Funnily enough, at 28 years old, Holland is currently the same age Fox was when shooting both Back to the Future sequels. Meanwhile, 59-year-old Downey Jr. is seven years older than Lloyd was during the production of Part II and III.
Much like Fox did as Marty McFly, Holland has spent much of his 20s playing a teenage character thanks to his role as Spider-Man. He will reprise his MCU superhero twice next year in Spider-Man 4 and Avengers: Doomsday, which will reunite with Downey Jr. as he steps into the villainous shoes of Doctor Doom.
While the two MCU stars aren't attached to Back to the Future 4, one has to wonder whether a sequel could happen with any other cast.
Could Back to the Future 4 Ever Happen?
Franchise director Robert Zemeckis has rather definitively shut down hopes of a fourth movie in the past, telling Bad Taste, "There will never, ever be, in the most absolute way" a Back to the Future 4:
"There will never, ever be, in the most absolutely way, a 'Back to the Future 4.' There will be no more 'Back to the Future.'"
Back to the Future co-creator Bob Gale discussed with The Hollywood Reporter backstage at the Saturn Awards how he is often asked when a fourth movie will happen, to which he tells people, "F*** you:"
“People always say, well, ‘When are you guys going to do 'Back to the Future 4?' And we say, ‘F*** you,’ you quote me on that!"
He added that in response to the requests for more from the time-travelling saga they made Back to the Future: The Musical and are "taking it around the world:"
"We made three terrific movies and people kept asking for more 'Back to the Future.' So we made 'Back to the Future: The Musical' … We’re taking it around the world.”
Back to the Future: The Musical is currently showing In London's Adelphi Theater and is in the midst of a North American tour. It will also begin showing this year in Sydney, Tokyo, and on Royal Carribean's new Star of the Seas cruise ship.
The musical adaptation of the 1985 classic contains music from Avengers: Endgame composer Alan Silvestri with lyrics from Glen Ballard.
There was once a rumor that Back to the Future would continue with a Netflix animated series, but the franchise's official page on X (at the time Twitter) was quick to debunk that with a series of GIFs from the movies.
The Back to the Future movies are available to buy and rent now.
