Back to the Future writer Bob Gale has seen Avengers: Endgame and he is “delighted” by the references to his story. The spoiler ban has lifted, so if you haven’t seen Endgame, you should probably leave now. With that being said, the Marvel Cinematic Universe movie takes some playful shots at the Back to the Future franchise when discussing time travel mechanics. In the movie, Rhodey suggests going back in time to strangle baby Thanos, but Hulk explains that’s not the way time travel works. Scott Lang then says, “So Back to the Future is a bunch of bullsh*t?”
Bob Gale co-wrote the script for Back to The Future with trilogy director Robert Zemeckis and he admits he loves the fact that Avengers: Endgame, which is currently the second highest grossing movie of all time and a cultural phenomenon, references his story. It’s hard not to think of the Back to the Future franchise when talking about time travel in popular culture. Many wish they could travel back in time to change the future through the past. Gale had this to say about Endgame.
“I was delighted to learn from Endgame that all of the Marvel superheroes are fans of Back to the Future. I knew our movie had been seen in almost every part of our world, but I had no idea we’d been playing in other parts of the multiverse too.”
While Avengers: Endgame throws some subtle shade at the Back to the Future trilogy, Bob Gale was able to throw some light shade back. “Now I need to find out if we’re owed some money from those multiverse theatrical runs…” Gale is obviously kidding, but it’s nice to see he has a sense of humor about it all. “And if not, why my contract didn’t cover those territories!,” Gale said in closing.
While the time travel mechanics in Back to the Future are not based on the science of today, Avengers: Endgame is, though many are calling the MCU movie out for inconsistencies. Screenwriters Stephen McFeely and Christopher Markus talked to physicists to get the lingo down, but many MCU fans are upset over the way they played with the rules and for some, it makes no sense at all. How does Steve Rogers get back to the bench in present time? Why can’t we go back and get Natasha Romanoff back from the Soul Stone sacrifice on Vormir?
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Scott Lang went on to state in Avengers: Endgame that, “We don’t talk to our prior selves or bet on sporting events,” which is a direct reference to Back to the Future 2. While Endgame may go on to become the biggest movie of all time, there will more than likely be some time travel debate for the years to come. Who knows, maybe some new movie will come out and make fun of their time travel mechanics. The interview with Bob Gale was originally conducted by The Hollywood Reporter.
