In news that will simultaneously crush and relieve ’80s nostalgia addicts, Bob Gale, the co-writer of the Back to the Future trilogy, has delivered a message to fans clamoring for a fourth installment: a succinct and eloquent, “F*** you!”
Okay, okay, he joked. But let’s be real, isn’t there a tiny part of all of us that secretly agrees? During the Saturn Awards ceremony honoring the franchise’s 40th anniversary (yes, you’re old), Gale, while accepting the George Pal Memorial Award alongside Christopher Lloyd and Lea Thompson, addressed the elephant in the DeLorean (or should we say, the hoverboard?). “People always say, ‘When are you guys going to do Back to the Future 4?’ And we say, ‘F*** you!'” he quipped. “You can quote me on that.” (Challenge accepted.)
He then, you know, clarified, explaining that they’d already given the world three “terrific” films (debatable, Part IIIanyone?) and then, for good measure, gifted us Back to the Future: The Musical. Because what the world truly needed was a tap-dancing Doc Brown. (Just kidding… mostly.)
Gale’s sentiment echoes that of director Robert Zemeckis, who last year emphatically stated that a sequel or remake was “not in the cards.” Apparently, Universal checks in every six months or so, presumably with increasingly desperate pitches involving time-traveling boy bands and alternate timelines where Biff owns Twitter. Zemeckis, however, seems more interested in a Back to the Future musical adaptation, which, let’s face it, is probably the most logical next step. After all, who wouldn’t want to see Marty McFly belt out a power ballad about the space-time continuum?
So, there you have it, folks. No Back to the Future 4. Instead, we have the musical, touring productions in Japan, Germany, and Australia (because cultural appropriation is timeless), and Bob Gale’s immortal words ringing in our ears. Maybe it’s time we all just accepted that some things are best left in the past. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go listen to “The Power of Love” and cry myself to sleep.
