Michael J. Fox Gets Standing Ovation as Back to the Future Cast Reunites at Rhode Island Comic Con

The cast of Back to the Future went back to the past at Rhode Island Comic Con.

Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson and Thomas F. Wilson, stars of the time-traveling adventure classic of 1985, had a celebratory reunion among fans on Sunday, Nov. 3 that included a Q&A about the film and its two sequels. 

As the stars took the stage, Fox — who was linked arm in arm with Thompson — as he approached the stage was greeted by a roaring crowd giving him warm welcome.

Marty McFly a.k.a. Fox, 63, reflected on the four decades that have passed since the Robert Zemeckis-directed Back to the Future became a hit. “I didn’t know what the hell I was getting into," the actor said as the audience erupted in laughter, before he later called the franchise's debut film "one of the few perfect movies."

For Thompson, 63, starring as Marty’s mother Lorraine has led her to feel "lucky" as she's "still so grateful to be known for a great part in’s great movie." She added that the movie's message about little actions causing drastic changes is "one of the reasons I think the movie does resonate deeply with people."

"I thought the script was amazing," she added. "When I read the script, I was blown away. So from that moment, I thought there was something special."

Wilson, 65, who played Biff Tannen, additionally opened up about the impact his antagonist character had on real-life bullies he has encountered. "I've been contacted by bullies, by people who have been forced in their lives as an adult to go and apologize to people and to realize the things that made them who they are and the things that they have to do to get out of that," he shared.

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The stars of the time-traveling franchise have reunited several times in the past few years. Many of them were on hand for a 2023 gala celebrating Back to the Future: The Musical, which is still playing on Broadway at New York's Winter Garden Theatre. 

Also last year, Fox told Variety that he only became close with Lloyd upon working on 1990’s Back to the Future Part III. Calling his costar “very enigmatic,” he said at the time, “I came to see how much he loved acting. I never got that before."

Rhode Island Comic-Con runs Nov. 1-3 in Providence, Rhode Island.