‘Back To The Future’ Director Says Sequel Or Remake Is “Not In The Cards”; Open To Do A Movie Musical

Robert Zemeckis, the director and co-creator of Back to the Future, is shutting down the idea of remaking or creating a sequel to the franchise.

In a new interview, the filmmaker revealed that he would only revisit the world he co-created with Bob Gale if he created a movie musical.

“You know, we have to say, ‘There are different things that might work.’ Something like that, you know? But to remake the movie or to suggest that there’s a Back to the Future 4, it just isn’t in the cards,” Zemeckis said on the Happy Sad Confused podcast.

Zemeckis said Universal has asked him if he was open to revisiting the Back to the Future universe, joking that the studio does it “every six months.”

“I would like to do Back to the Future: The Musical,” Zemeckis said. “Just like [Mel Brooks] did with The Producers. I would love to do that. I think that would be great.”

Zemeckis said he talked to the film studio about the musical but said, “They don’t get it. So there’s nothing I can do.”

Back to the Future was released in 1985, and the science fiction film starred Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover, and Thomas F. Wilson. The film revolves around Marty McFly accidentally traveling back in time where he inadvertently prevents his future parents from falling in love, which threatens his whole existence.

Following the film’s success, the sequel Back to the Future Part II was released in 1989, and a third installment was released in 1990. An animated series based on the movie premiered in 1991 and ran for 26 episodes across two seasons.

Lloyd reprised his Back to the Future role in a short film titled Doc Brown Saves the World, which was released to celebrate the franchise’s 30th anniversary.

A stage musical made its debut in 2020 in England before opening in Broadway in 2023.

Watch Zemeckis’s full interview below.