Back to the Future Director Says a Fourth Movie 'Just Isn’t in the Cards'

Universal Studios is apparently just as eager as Back to the Future fans for a fourth film — but director Robert Zemeckis isn’t as excited about the possibility.

In a recent interview on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, the filmmaker told the hosts that he has no desire to revisit the franchise, which released its last film in 1990. Universal, however, checks in with Zemeckis “every six months,” he joked.

“You know, we have to say, ‘There are different things that might work.’ Something like that, you know?” the director, 72, said of the inquiries. “But to remake the movie or to suggest that there’s a Back to the Future 4, it just isn’t in the cards.”

The first Back to the Future film was released in 1985, with Back to the Future Part II released in 1989 and Back to the Future Part III in 1990. Though the sci-fi franchise is well-loved by viewers new and old, discussions about adding to its already noteworthy legacy haven’t taken off.

Though the director may not be open to adding to the original story between Marty McFly and Doc Brown, he’s not opposed to breathing new life into the franchise by giving the story a different treatment.

“I would like to do the Back to the Future: The Musical [movie]. I would love to do that,” Zemeckis posed. “I think that would be great. I floated that out to the folks at Universal. They don’t get it. So, [there’s] nothing I can do.”

Back to the Future: The Musical opened on Broadway in August 2023 and had a successful run of more than 500 performances. Despite selling millions of tickets across those shows, it’s currently set to close soon.

Michael J. Fox, who played Marty in the film franchise, called the first move "one of the few perfect movies” while at the 2024 Rhode Island Comic Con over the weekend.

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“I don’t think it needs rebooting because are you going to clarify something? You’re going to find a better way to tell the story? I doubt it,” Fox, 63, told Variety in May.

There are a variety of reasons Fox wouldn’t participate in a reboot, with his Parkinson's disease being a big factor in that decision.

“Do what you want. It’s your movie,” he joked of the reboot talks. “I got paid already.”