Christopher Lloyd: I’d Do ‘Back to the Future: Part IV’

Christopher Lloyd loved playing Dr. Emmett Brown in the Back to the Future trilogy so much, he would reprise the role in a heartbeat if a fourth film were made. 

During an interview with THR on Wednesday, Lloyd says he’d sign on immediately if the whole gang — Robert Zemeckis, Bob Gale, Michael J. Fox, Lea Thompson and Thomas F. Wilson — got back together for one more time-traveling adventure.

“I would love to do Doc again, no question,” Lloyd says.

The blockbuster franchise has experienced a cultural resurgence recently as Oct. 21, 2015, approaches. The date, dubbed Back to the Future Day, coincides with the exact date in Back to the Future: Part II when Marty travels to the future from 1985. A fourth installment in the series is unlikely, but fun to imagine for Lloyd, who turns 77 next week.

“It’s tough to come up with an idea that contains the excitement of the original three,” Lloyd says. “So it would be a real challenge for the writers to come up with an original Back to the Future story that has the same passion and intensity and excitement as the other three. But it could be done, you never know,” he adds with a chuckle. 

Lloyd is also confident Fox would return as Marty one more time.

“I think regardless of the Parkinson’s, he’d probably jump on the role and he’d be great,” Lloyd says. “I can’t see doing another sequel without him. I would certainly want Bob Zemeckis directing it, Bob Gale writing it and the other principals being involved.” And, of course, there has got to be a DeLorean, he added. “It was such a perfect choice for the film. It looked so speedy and futuristic.”

When asked about his thoughts on a possible reboot, Lloyd contends there would one major hurdle.

“It’s hard to replace Marty,” he says. “Michael J. Fox was so wonderful in the role.” 

The two actors formed a strong bond on set and have remained good friends through the years. “He’s just so great to see,” Lloyd says. “He’s just so warm and smart and has such courage coping with the Parkinson’s. He’s indomitable. He’s just great to be around.” 

Lloyd is glad the films — in which his character discovers time travel after a bonk on the head — have brought joy to so many for so long, but the longevity of the franchise is something he never saw coming. 

“I’m surprised,” he says. “I had no anticipation that it would still be so popular.”

Fans falling in love with the movies as kids and then sharing that experience with their children is what has allowed the films to remain — funnily enough — timeless. “It hasn’t faded,” Lloyd says. 

Lloyd enjoys marveling at all the futuristic technology imagined in the 1989 movie that now exists, but there is one strange coincidence that really makes him chuckle: the Chicago Cubs working their way toward the World Series.

One of the main plot points for Back to the Future: Part II is Marty getting the idea to gamble in the past once he learns the Cubs win the World Series in 2015. And, with the Cubs moving on to National League Championship Series on Tuesday, that might just happen. 

“I didn’t even remember about the Cubs until someone brought it up a few days ago,” Lloyd says. 

If Chicago makes it to the World Series, Lloyd said it would fun to throw out the first pitch. “Maybe it’ll happen. We’ll see,” he says. “They got to get there first.” 

The Back to the Future 30th Anniversary Edition comes to Blu-ray and DVD on Oct. 20.