An old couple react excitedly in 'Back to the Future' Universal Pictures /Courtesy Everett Collection Add Collider on Google Add as Preferred Source Follow on Google Discover By Shawn Van Horn Published Oct 27, 2026, 12:05 AM EDT Shawn Van Horn is a Senior Author for Collider. He's watched way too many slasher movies over the decades, which makes him an aficionado on all things Halloween and Friday the 13th . Don't ask him to choose between Michael Myers and Jason Voorhees because he can't do it. He grew up in the 90s, when Seinfeld , Everybody Loves Raymond , and TGIF were his life, and still watches them religiously to this day. Larry David is his spirit animal. His love for entertainment spreads to the written word as well. He has written two novels and is neck deep in the querying trenches. He is also a short story maker upper and poet with a dozen publishing credits to his name. He lives in small town Ohio, where he likes to watch professional wrestling and movies. Sign in to your Collider account Like Like follow Follow followed Followed Listen Thread Log in Here is a fact-based summary of the story contents: Try something different: Show me the facts Explain it like I’m 5 Give me a lighthearted recap After starting out as cheesy '50s and '60s B-movies, where a scientist sets off in some goofy-looking time machine, and gets stuck in a predictable past world where they have to fight monsters, time travel movies began to transform in the '70s and '80s with more sophisticated offerings like Time After Time and The Terminator . And then, 1985's Back to the Future arrived. Robert Zemeckis ' film took what audiences already knew about the subgenre and turned it on its head, with Michael J. Fox , Christopher Lloyd , and company creating an unforgettable comedy adventure like viewers had never seen before. Not only was Back to the Future the biggest box office hit of the year, but its final line hinted at what was to come for the franchise and beyond .
Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd as Marty McFly and Doc Brown in 'Back to the Future' Image via Universal Pictures Crispin Glover as George McFly, Lorraine McFly as Lea Thompson and Michael J. Fox as Marty McFly in Back to the Future Image Via Universal Pictures Lightning strikes the DeLorean at the end of 'Back to the Future' Image via Universal Pictures Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox), Jennifer (Claudia Wells), and a mirror-goggled Emmett "Doc" Brown (Christopher Lloyd) sit in the DeLorean time machine at the end of 'Back to the Future' (1985). Image via Universal Pictures DeLorean from 'Back to the Future' flying toward the camera Image via Universal Pictures Close Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd as Marty McFly and Doc Brown in 'Back to the Future' Image via Universal Pictures Crispin Glover as George McFly, Lorraine McFly as Lea Thompson and Michael J. Fox as Marty McFly in Back to the Future Image Via Universal Pictures Lightning strikes the DeLorean at the end of 'Back to the Future' Image via Universal Pictures Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox), Jennifer (Claudia Wells), and a mirror-goggled Emmett "Doc" Brown (Christopher Lloyd) sit in the DeLorean time machine at the end of 'Back to the Future' (1985). Image via Universal Pictures DeLorean from 'Back to the Future' flying toward the camera Image via Universal Pictures In 1985, Michael J. Fox was arguably the biggest TV star in the world, thanks to his portrayal of Alex P. Keaton in Family Ties . He was also the final and most imp…