Back to the Future 4 will ‘never' happen, writer Bob Gale insists
Screenwriter Bob Gale has once again insisted a fourth 'Back to the Future' movie will 'never' happen.
The 73-year-old scribe - who created the beloved sci-fi trilogy with director Robert Zemeckis, 72 - has long stressed the 'Back to the Future' series is over, and has now emphasised that neither a prequel nor sequel will ever go ahead.
Speaking at Universal Fan Fest Nights about a possible fourth film, Gale said: 'I don't know why they keep talking about that! I mean, do they think that if they say it enough times, we're going to actually do it?
'I mean, it's like they know in every interview people say, 'Oh Bob, when is there going to be a 'Back to the Future 4'?' Never. 'When is there going to be a prequel?' Never. 'When is there going to be a spinoff?' Never.
'It's just fine the way it is. It's not perfect, but as Bob Zemeckis used to say, 'It's perfect enough.''
Gale added it would involve some serious convincing from studio higher-ups for him and Zemeckis to budge on a fourth 'Back to the Future' movie, though was thankful that Steven Spielberg 'totally respects' their decision to leave the franchise be.
The writer joked: 'If the juggernaut of corporate America or corporate international mishigas says, 'If you don't agree to this, we're going to kill your children', alright, well, no, we don't want our children killed.
'But Steven Spielberg, of course, he's got to sign off on it, too. And Steven, just like Steven won't allow another 'E.T.', he totally respects the fact that we don't want any more 'Back to the Future'.
'He gets it and always stood behind that. And thank you, Steven.'
While 'Back to the Future's time on the screen may have come to an end, Gale added the franchise was still alive and well on the theatre stage with the musical adaptation of the first film.
He said: 'We've made 'Back to the Future: The Musical,' which is still playing in London, it's on a U.S. tour.
'We just opened it in Tokyo in Japanese, and they're just as crazy, or crazier, over there about that whole 'Back to the Future' as anywhere else.
'So, I mean, I'm humbled and blown away by the fact that Bob and I came up with something that has this much staying power.'
Looking back at the franchise as it celebrates its 40th anniversary, Gale said he was proud to have created such a beloved film series that remains popular to this day.
He reflected: 'What's so great is seeing the next generation of kids that are being touched by this and [say], 'Gee, my parents were once kids.'
'That's why I think it keeps on going, because every kid comes to that realization at some point, and we made a movie about that. So I love the fact that people are newly discovering it.'
'Back to the Future' - which starred Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover and Thomas F. Wilson - follows Marty McFly who accidentally travels back to 1955 in a time machine built by eccentric scientist Dr. 'Doc' Emmett Brown, and must ensure his parents fall in love to avoid erasing his own existence.
The 1985 movie was followed by 'Back to the Future: Part II' in 1989, with the trilogy concluding a year later with 'Back to the Future: Part III'.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Perth Now
20-06-2025
- Perth Now
Steven Spielberg was ‘deeply involved' in Jurassic World: Rebirth, says writer David Koepp
Jurassic World: Rebirth writer David Koepp has said Steven Spielberg was 'deeply involved' in making the movie. The 78-year-old director helmed the original 1993 film Jurassic Park, its 1997 sequel The Lost Work: Jurassic Park and has served as an executive producer on the Jurassic World series ever since, and Koepp - who wrote the first movie and its follow-up - revealed one of the main reasons he returned for Jurassic World: Rebirth was because Spielberg was 'very involved' in it. Speaking to Deadline about Spielberg, the 62-year-old scribe said: 'Oh, he was very involved. 'That was one of the reasons I most wanted to do it. Because Steven was deeply involved from the beginning, and for the six months that we were working on the script, it was really just him and me. 'I'd send him my ideas, and we'd work on them, and when you have Steven's full attention, the results can be pretty spectacular.' Jurassic World: Rebirth - which stars Scarlett Johansson, Jonathan Bailey, and Mahershala Ali - follows a team of covert operatives on a mission to stop a rogue biotech organisation from unleashing weaponised dinosaurs around the world. As the chaos escalates, the team uncovers a dark secret connected to the original Jurassic legacy. Koepp previously said Jurassic World: Rebirth - which was directed by Gareth Edwards and releases on 2 July 2025 - would capture the 'spirit of the first movie'. He told TheWrap: '[We were trying to evoke] the spirit of the first movie, which is the tone that we would like to get closest to.' The writer added it was 'the idea of starting afresh' which convinced him to return to the Jurassic series. He said: 'You don't often get that chance, where they give you very few guidelines, except there must be dinosaurs in it.' Even so, before he agreed to come back for Jurassic World: Rebirth, Koepp had a list of demands he gave to Universal Pictures that the studio had to meet. He explained: 'Number one was – the events of the previous six movies cannot be denied or contradicted, because I hate a retcon. '[Number two was] all science must be real. [Third was] humour is oxygen.' Reflecting on returning to the Jurassic series, Koepp said it was 'weird and trippy' for him to step back in time for Jurassic World: Rebirth. He explained: 'It even smelled the same. It felt low pressure, even though Universal might be horrified to hear that.' Looking back at Jurassic Park and The Lost World, Koepp said 'writing those first two movies were some of [his] favourite experiences in [his] career so far'. He added: 'The combination of grand adventure and real science is right up my alley. And it was fun to be able to decide on a new tone, because every three movies seems like a good time to change tone and characters in a franchise. 'It was great to be able to work solely with Steven and make up a story and think of all new characters and all in a different tone.'
Sydney Morning Herald
19-06-2025
- Sydney Morning Herald
Which is the best new child-meets-alien movie? We give Elio the edge
ELIO ★★★½ PG. 98 minutes Child meets alien: it's a tale as old as time, or at least a formula that goes back to E.T. Still, given that Disney and Pixar are two branches of the same company, there's something disconcerting about Pixar releasing Elio just a few weeks after Disney brought us the live-action version of Lilo & Stitch. Both films centre on a rambunctious young orphan who has trouble making human friends, but does better when extra-terrestrials are involved – and both incorporate the expected heart-tugging moments and moral lessons, along with parodies of science-fiction cliches. So which one should you or your children see? It's a matter of individual preference, but personally I'd have to give Elio the edge. Lilo & Stitch is mostly old-fashioned slapstick, though not lacking in charm. Elio is more ambitious, and also a whole lot weirder – which is a plus, though questions might be raised about the advisability of showing a child lying on a beach next to a message scrawled in the sand that reads 'ABDUCT ME,' granting he's spelled out he wants to be abducted by aliens, not just anyone. At any rate, it isn't long before young Elio (Yonas Kibreab) gets his wish. Light years away from planet Earth, he seems to have found his chosen family in a non-violent, technologically advanced collective of aliens known as the Communiverse, who accept and appreciate him as his well-meaning aunt back home (Zoe Saldana) never could. Naturally, there are complications. It's not that the members of the Communiverse are hiding anything sinister, but they've jumped to the false conclusion that Elio is Earth's leader. Rather than confess the humiliating truth, he volunteers for a dangerous diplomatic mission involving the monstrous Lord Grigon (Brad Garrett) – whose young son Glorgan (Remy Edgerly) proves to be even more of a misfit than Elio, with no true desire to move on from his larval form or join the family business of galactic conquest.
The Age
19-06-2025
- The Age
Which is the best new child-meets-alien movie? We give Elio the edge
ELIO ★★★½ PG. 98 minutes Child meets alien: it's a tale as old as time, or at least a formula that goes back to E.T. Still, given that Disney and Pixar are two branches of the same company, there's something disconcerting about Pixar releasing Elio just a few weeks after Disney brought us the live-action version of Lilo & Stitch. Both films centre on a rambunctious young orphan who has trouble making human friends, but does better when extra-terrestrials are involved – and both incorporate the expected heart-tugging moments and moral lessons, along with parodies of science-fiction cliches. So which one should you or your children see? It's a matter of individual preference, but personally I'd have to give Elio the edge. Lilo & Stitch is mostly old-fashioned slapstick, though not lacking in charm. Elio is more ambitious, and also a whole lot weirder – which is a plus, though questions might be raised about the advisability of showing a child lying on a beach next to a message scrawled in the sand that reads 'ABDUCT ME,' granting he's spelled out he wants to be abducted by aliens, not just anyone. At any rate, it isn't long before young Elio (Yonas Kibreab) gets his wish. Light years away from planet Earth, he seems to have found his chosen family in a non-violent, technologically advanced collective of aliens known as the Communiverse, who accept and appreciate him as his well-meaning aunt back home (Zoe Saldana) never could. Naturally, there are complications. It's not that the members of the Communiverse are hiding anything sinister, but they've jumped to the false conclusion that Elio is Earth's leader. Rather than confess the humiliating truth, he volunteers for a dangerous diplomatic mission involving the monstrous Lord Grigon (Brad Garrett) – whose young son Glorgan (Remy Edgerly) proves to be even more of a misfit than Elio, with no true desire to move on from his larval form or join the family business of galactic conquest.
