Robert Zemeckis Says Studio Keeps Asking for BACK TO THE FUTURE 4 but He'd Rather Direct the Musical Adaptation
Director Robert Zemeckis confirmed during an interview on the Happy Sad Confused podcast that Universal Pictures is often checking in with him to see if he’d be interested in making a fourth Back to the Future movie.
His answer remains “no,” although he would be interested in developing a film adaptation of Back to the Future: The Musical, which recently announced it will play its final Broadway performance on January 5, 2025.
When asked on the podcast if Universal begs him “every couple years” for Back to the Future 4, Zemeckis joked: “Oh, every six months.” He then clarified that was “just an exaggeration” but said Universal does frequently check in with him about another sequel.
Zemeckis playfully imitated the studio, saying, “‘Isn’t there anything we can figure out to do here? Isn’t there anything we can do?'” He went on:
“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.
“I would like to do the Back to the Future: The Musical [movie]. I would love to do that. 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 after a debut run in London’s West End, where it won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Musical in 2022.
The show is closing on Broadway after over 500 performances and $80 million worth of tickets sold, the producers said.
As for Back to the Future 4, original franchise star Michael J. Fox told Variety last year that there’s no need for a fourth movie or for a reboot to exist, although he humorously added: “Do what you want. It’s your movie. I got paid already.”
Fox added: “I don’t think it needs to be. I think [Zemeckis has] 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.”
Fox’s co-star Christopher Lloyd, who played the mad scientist Emmett “Doc” Brown, is more open to the idea of Back to the Future 4.
"I would love to do a sequel, but I think Bob Zemeckis and [producer Steven] Spielberg felt that they told the story in the three episodes. But if somebody has a brilliant idea that would justify a fourth film it might happen.”
Watch Zemeckis’ full interview on the Happy Sad Confused podcast in the video below: