‘Back To The Future’: Five Fan Theories That Will Blow Your Mind


Back to the Future fans have had a hard time decoding the iconic movie with all its subtleties and nuances. And a lot of fun too!

Like any original cinematic marvel, Back to the Future series has been susceptible to crazy fan theories over the years. When Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale wrote the movie in 1985, they could not have imagined how deep their film was going to penetrate into the popular culture fabric. Fans have often built alternate stories around Back to the Future’s space-time continuum, and at other times accounted for the plot holes in the narrative. Here we list five of our favorite fan theories about the sci-fi cult classic.

Doc Brown was a Suicidal Maniac

A popular fan theory doing the rounds on Reddit states that when Doc Brown asks Marty to film his first attempt at using the Delorean time machine, he has already given up on hopes of the machine working. This is the reason why he stands directly in the path of the speeding vehicle — with Marty by his side — to kill himself, in case this invention also fails to work.

Even more bizarre is the theory on Movie Pilot that when Doc Brown says he cut his head attempting to hang a clock in the bathroom, he was in fact trying to hang himself. Now that’s depressing…

Donnie Darko is Actually Back to the Future Fan Fiction

For weavers of fan fiction yarn, this one probably takes the cake! As Motherboard reports, Richard Kelly is a self-confessed Back to the Future fan, and according to What Culture, a theory states that his film Donnie Darko was not only a homage to Marty McFly’s story, but originally developed as a sort of Back to the Future fan fiction.

Replace Marty with Donnie, Doc Brown with Frank the Bunny, and Jennifer with Gretchen, and you’ve got virtually the same film. Has anyone told that to Richard Kelly yet?

The Back to the Future Trilogy is a Metaphor for Sexual Reproduction

Yes, some theorists believe Back to the Future is a metaphor for the birth narrative. As reported by Time, they argue that the flux capacitor is not entirely unlike a pair of ovaries and Fallopian tubes connected to a uterus. Further, the fact that the machine needs a man to enter it to begin the process strengthens their argument. To crown it all, the process is supervised by a doctor, Doc Brown.

George McFly Actually Knew That Calvin Klein was His Future Son

A lot of people have often wondered why George or Lorraine could not identify Calvin Klein as their son Marty. As What Culture reports, some theorists believe they have the answer — George actually knew of his son’s real identity.

The reason George desisted from revealing it to other people was because he wanted the hoax to work for himself to turn out a successful man. Now that makes for a very selfish George!

Back to the Future Predicts the Tragic Events of September 11, 2001 and JFK’s Assassination

This is perhaps the wildest fan theory out there. A fantastic YouTube video scrupulously ties together Illuminati symbols and coincidental placements of the numbers 9 and 11 in Back to the Future in an attempt to parody conspiracy theories. This just goes to show you that with enough meticulousness, anything can be transformed into a conspiracy.

Another YouTube video ties JFK’s assassination with Back to the Future! Now will someone tell Robert Zemeckis about all this?

[Photo: Bryan Bedder / Getty Images]

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