A few weeks back, some intrepid fan made a convincing deepfake video of Avengers stars Tom Holland and Robert Downey Jr. playing the roles of Marty McFly and Doc Brown in Back to the Future. We all had a good laugh while marveling at how much Holland looks like Fox, but as it turns out, there may be more to this deepfake than meets the eye.
Apparently, Holland has had some talks about starring in a potential Back to the Future reboot. In an interview with BBC Radio 1, transcribed by Screenrant, Holland said the following: “I’d be lying if I said there hadn’t been conversations in the past about doing some sort of remake, but that film is the most perfect film — or one of the most perfect films, one that could never be made better. That said, if [Downey Jr.] and I could just shoot that one scene that they remade for fun — he could pay for it cause he’s got loads of money — I would do it for my fee and we could remake that scene. I think we owe it to [those who made the] deepfake because they did such a good job. … I think I’m gonna speak to Robert and see if we can try to recreate something for deepfake.”
It’s unclear with whom Holland has had these conversations, but it’s unlikely they were with anyone with the actual power to make a new Back to the Future movie. The rights to the film currently lie with the franchise’s creators, director Robert Zemeckis and writer Bob Gale, and they have stated vehemently that no remake will ever be made in their lifetime — or even after their collective demise if their estates are able to stop it.
So reboot-haters, you may rejoice. It doesn’t look like Back to the Future will be remade with Tom Holland anytime soon. But what about a single scene just for fun, or maybe even for charity? Well, we might be able to see Zemeckis and Gale signing off on something like that.
