Small tweaks make 'Back to the Future Part II' look more like today (pictures)
In this CNET exclusive, a few scenes from the classic film are altered to reflect the world we love in today. Man buns anyone?
Binge break?
In the 1989 movie "Back to the Future Part II," lead character Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) travels into the future and arrives on October 21, 2015. To get in on all the Back to the Future Day action, tool part purveyor MMToolParts.com created a series of stills from the movie, adjusting them ever so slightly to match up with the real 2015. They've shared the shots exclusively with CNET's Crave blog, and now we're sharing them with you.
Here, we see that the movie got the idea absolutely right about large flat-screen TVs that could hang on walls. But the content has been fixed to show a much more likely display -- Netflix. If the streaming service existed back then, wonder if McFly would have stopped to binge-watch "Breaking Bad?"
Jaws or Left Shark?
During Katy Perry's halftime performance at this year's Super Bowl, a dancer dressed as a shark failed to deliver the enthusiasm in a beach-themed dance routine. The Internet instantly embraced "Left Shark" and brought forth the mascot in memes aplenty.
Even though the shark in this still is meant to illustrate "Jaws 19," the fictional film from "Back to the Future Part II," a few tweaks to the marquee is all it takes to make it very 2105.
Product placement
Everyone knows Doc Brown's gadget of choice would be an iPhone in 2015. Or maybe that would just be the way the film would get shot today, thanks to some crafty Apple product placement.
Read all about it
One of the more interesting stills from "Back to the Future II" shows what the producers imagined the newspaper USA Today would look like in 2015. Even though they didn't get the look quite right, check out the upper-left corner of the paper where it says "Cubs sweep series in 5."
Eerily enough, the Cubs are indeed a contender for the World Series -- although not a very likely one as they're currently losing the National League playoffs to the Mets.
Still, it's pretty amazing that the fake headline back in 1989 almost matches the news today. A few little tweaks brings the paper right up to date. As it turns out, USA Today will release a "Back to the Future" edition on newsstands October 22.
Marlin magic
Speaking of baseball, in the film, the Cubs get their sweep against a fictitious Miami team. A little Photoshop magic fixes that issue, as we now have the Miami Marlins, which were formed in 1993.
Almost gear
There almost would have been no reason to update this shot because up until recently, McFly's now-famous hoverboard would have been pure fiction. But thanks to the creation of a few new hoverboards, like one from Lexus and the one seen here from Hendo, the floating skateboards are starting to become a reality, even though they still need to be ridden on special surfaces.
Griff bun
Griff, the grandson of 1955's bad boy Biff in the film, would definitely have a hipster man bun in 2015, don't you think?
Like father like son?
In "Back to the Future Part II," Michael J. Fox plays both his own father and son (time travel is tricky, OK?). We now know exactly what McFly, or Fox, looks like in 2015, as the image on the bottom shows.
To see a few additional shots in this series of "fixes," click here. And happy Back to the Future Day!