‘Terminator: Genisys’ opens this weekend, marking a reboot of the classic robo-pocalyptic movie series that kicked off in 1984.  Earlier this summer, ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’ proved to be a dark horse hit.  And next year, we all get to call ‘Ghostbusters!’ again, in the first film in a proposed relaunch.

But one 80s sci fi classic will remain unsullied by modern tampering, ‘Back To The Future.’  Robert Zemeckis, who directed the originals, adamantly shot down any hope that the world of Marty McFly would again grace the silver screen.  His remark isn’t exactly humble, but I think the sentiment speaks for a lot of fans of the original:

“Oh, God no. That can’t happen until both Bob and I are dead. And then I’m sure they’ll do it, unless there’s a way our estates can stop it.

I mean, to me, that’s outrageous. Especially since it’s a good movie. It’s like saying ‘Let’s remake Citizen Kane. Who are we going to get to play Kane?’ What folly, what insanity is that? Why would anyone do that?”

The Bob he refers to is Bob Gale, who co-wrote the original script.  In an unusual move, Zemeckis and Gale and not the studios, Universal and Amblin, that have creative control over ‘Back To The Future’ movies until their deaths.  After that, things may get murky.

For his part, Gale expressed opposition for a fourth movie in the series, saying “We’ve all seen sometimes where they make one too many sequels and you say, ‘Maybe they shouldn’t have done that,’” (Uh, well considering the less enthusiastic reactions that audiences had to the second and third ‘BttF’ movies, maybe they should have paid more mind to that thought.)

Does Zemeckis have a point?  Studios look at reboots,sequels and adaptations as safe bets, money in the bank, because they are mostly pre-sold to audiences already familiar with the brand, which is why that’s nearly all we get during the competitive summer season.  Even the rare original concept for a big budget flick is viewed as the potential first in a series.

Isn’t there an art to leaving things be?

Are you sad that we won’t get any new versions of ‘Back To The Future’?  Or do you find it refreshing that a creator has more control over a property than the studio?  Comment below!

Source: Slash Film