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With enough time, all your favorite mainstream movies will get remade. Michael J. Fox revealed his feelings on a potential Back to the Future remake. In addition, he expressed his opinion on the Broadway show Back to the Future: The Musical.

Michael J. Fox said a ‘Back to the Future’ remake couldn’t improve on the original

During a 2023 interview with Variety, Fox said he doesn’t want a Back to the Future reboot but he’s not torn up about it. “I’m not fanatical,” Fox said. “Do what you want. It’s your movie. I got paid already.”

Fox praised director Robert Zemeckis and writer Bob Gale for avoiding another cliche Hollywood remake. “I don’t think it needs to be,” Fox added. “I think Bob and Bob have been really smart about that. 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.”

The closest that Back to the Future has gotten to a reboot so far is Broadway’s Back to the Future: The Musical. The musical includes original songs as well as tunes that appeared in the film, such as Chuck Berry’s “Johnny B. Goode” and Huey Lewis and the News’ “The Power of Love.” Fox seemed a little more enthusiastic about the musical than a prospective remake. “There’s no role for me in it, but I’ll be cheering from the side,” he said.

Michael J. Fox loves some humor in the film that might not appear in a remake

During a separate 2023 interview with Variety, Fox explained his unexpected take on the enduring appeal of his most famous movie. “There’s something about it that people still respond to because it’s so weird,” Fox said. “Not to be crude, but it’s a movie about almost f****** your mom and she’s totally ready for it. Even at the time, I realized it was bizarre — plus Lea [Thompson, the actor who played his mother in Back to the Future] was pretty cute.” The sexual elements of Back to the Future provide the humor that worked in the 1980s but probably wouldn’t fly in a modern Hollywood movie.

Interestingly, Fox said that his performance worked because he wasn’t able to get much sleep during the production of Back to the Future. “I was running on adrenaline,” admits Fox. “I barely knew where I was, and I didn’t really know what I was doing. That served the film because Marty’s supposed to be disoriented.”

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‘Back to the Future’ inspired 1 of the biggest shows on TV today

Box Office Mojo reports Back to the Future earned over $211 million in the United States along with over $11 million in foreign markets. While Marvel movies can make easily more than that, Back to the Future made a big haul for the 1980s. The film’s success inspired Back to the Future II and Back to the Future III, a theme park ride, and the aforementioned Broadway musical. Back to the Future was also the template for Rick and Morty, a show that takes some ideas from its predecessor but takes them in much edgier directions. The title characters of the show are clearly based on Doc Brown and Marty McFly, respectively.

Back to the Future might get remade someday — just don’t expect Fox to be at the premiere.

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