When Back to the Future hit screens in 1985, audiences had no idea they were witnessing the birth of one of the most beloved film sagas in history. Doc Emmett Brown’s line, “Where we’re going, we don’t need roads,” instantly became part of cultural shorthand, and Robert Zemeckis’s film has remained an essential piece of pop culture for nearly four decades.
Today it’s impossible to imagine the trilogy without Michael J. Fox racing through time in his signature red jacket. But the actor’s road to the role of Marty McFly was far from straightforward. Initially, Zemeckis and screenwriter Bob Gale considered several other actors — to the point that the role was actually given to Eric Stoltz. Known for Mask, he spent four weeks on set, but his interpretation of the character turned out to be too dramatic.
Read more: ‘For Whom the Bell Tolls’: How a Horse Nearly Ruined the Filming
“Eric approached the role too seriously,” Steven Spielberg later recalled. In the end, the creators made a rare industry decision: to reshoot already completed scenes and bring back Michael J. Fox, who was allowed to juggle filming with his work on the series Family Ties.
Meanwhile, the story of the first film transported viewers from 1985 to 1955 — a decade portrayed as bright and almost fairy-tale–like. Zemeckis deliberately chose this visual tone, as real America at the time was far more contradictory. The country lived under racial segregation, and the Cold War produced a paranoia felt at every level of society. Against this backdrop, the peaceful Hill Valley becomes a point of idealized nostalgia — a place where one can hide from the anxieties of the era.
But the main symbol of Back to the Future is undoubtedly the DeLorean. This stainless-steel car with gull-wing doors became the most recognizable time machine in film history. Yet few know that in early versions of the script, the time machine wasn’t a car at all. Zemeckis and Gale originally imagined that their hero would step into an ordinary… refrigerator! The idea was quickly abandoned out of fear that children would try to replicate the trick at home. Thus, the DeLorean gained immortality — and cinema gained one of its most legendary props.
Today the trilogy continues to inspire new generations of viewers, and the story of its creation has itself become part of the myth — as remarkable a journey as Marty McFly’s adventures.
Read more: ‘La La Land’: What Ending Was Originally Planned for the Film?
