Summary
- The Back to the Future trilogy is a masterclass in foreshadowing, with intricate details hinting at future plot points throughout all three movies.
- Doc Brown’s clock collection teases the ending of the first film, showing a man hanging from a clock tower that parallels the final scene.
- The Statler family background story, Marty’s tree crash, and Doc Brown’s shirt all foreshadow events in the trilogy, creating a cohesive and well-thought-out narrative.
The Back to the Future trilogy is a masterclass in foreshadowing and payoffs, and here are 10 story clues from throughout the franchise that you probably missed. All three Back to the Future movies contain small connections that show just how well thought out the trilogy was, with nearly every piece of the time travel puzzle fitting together perfectly. However, casual Back to the Future fans may not realize the true extent of these story clues, with all kinds of minor details showing exactly where the story of the trilogy is going.
1985’s Back to the Future is considered to have one of the tightest scripts of all time, with it being incredibly impressive just how meticulous the writers were when plotting out the three-movie arc. As all time travel movies do, Back to the Future has some plot holes and unresolved mysteries, but the team behind the franchise has attempted to reconcile each one. However, these small discrepancies pale in comparison to just how much foreshadowing the films contain, and here are 10 of the best moments from throughout the trilogy.
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10 Back To The Future’s Opening Seconds Teases Doc Brown’s Clock Tower Ending
Set Up & Paid Off In Back To The Future
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Back to the Future‘s first major bit of foreshadowing occurs in the very first scene of the film, with one of the many items that Doc Brown owns showing exactly how the film will end. One of the most apparent details regarding Doc Brown’s belongings is the vast array of clocks that he owns, with one clock being reminiscent of a scene from the 1923 film Safety Last. The clock portrays a man hanging from a clock tower, and by the end of the film, viewers will realize that this perfectly parallels Doc Brown’s fate.
While attempting to send Marty back to the year 1985, Doc Brown makes a mistake and winds up hanging from the famous Hill Valley clock tower. This scene is almost identical to the situation that is portrayed on the Safety Last clock, with Back to the Future showing its hand at the very beginning of the film.
9 A Newspaper Clipping Explains How Doc Brown Has So Much Money
Set Up & Paid Off In Back To The Future
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Throughout the Back to the Future franchise, it is made clear that Doc Brown is an incredibly rich man, with him owning multiple properties and being able to invest all kinds of money into wacky sci-fi inventions. However, the Back to the Future trilogy never explicitly explains why he has so much money, with it only being made clear to eagle-eyed viewers who pay attention to the franchise’s small details.
Back to the Future shows that Doc Brown kept newspaper clippings about his wealth, with them being seen in the background. One of these clippings discusses an inventor dealing in real estate, with this possibly being one source of Brown’s money. On top of that, another clipping discusses Brown’s mansion burning down sometime before 1985, with the insurance money from this disaster potentially making Doc Brown a very rich man.
Related The 10 Best Marty McFly Quotes In The Back To The Future Trilogy, Ranked
The Back to the Future franchise is full of amazing quotes, particularly from Marty McFly, its plucky teenaged time-traveling protagonist.
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8 The Statler Family Has Its Own BTTF Background Story
Set Up In Back To The Future, Paid Off In Back To The Future Part III
The Back to the Future franchise chronicles the stories of two families throughout the decades, with those being the McFlys and the Tannens. However, there is one other recurring family that many Back to the Future fans don’t know about, with that being the Statlers. First seen in the original Back to the Future, Statler Toyota is one of the many businesses in Hill Valley in 1985. However, the 1955 timeline reveals a little more about the family, with the business becoming Statler Studebaker when Marty goes back in time.
The Statler setup is paid off in Back to the Future Part III, with the Statler business still existing in 1885. Instead of selling cars, however, Honest Joe Statler was a business that sold horses, with this reveal being teased all the way back in the first Back to the Future film.
7 Marty’s 1955 Tree Crash Has A Major Impact On 1985
Set Up & Paid Off In Back To The Future
Back to the Future famously features the Twin Pines Mall early in the first film, with this being where Marty and Doc first test out the DeLorean time machine. However, when Marty travels back in time, he finds himself on a farm where the mall will be in 30 years. As he escapes the farm in the DeLorean, Marty runs over one of two trees, with the film not making it clear why this detail is significant until much later.
Upon making it back to 1985, the mall is once again seen, although it now goes by a different name. From the end of Back to the Future on, the mall is now known as the Lone Pine Mall, with Marty’s destruction of one of the twin pines changing the course of history forever.
6 Doc Brown Predicts Back To The Future Part II
Set Up In Back To The Future, Paid Off In Back To The Future Part II
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One line that Doc Brown says in the original Back to the Future may seem like a joke, but it actually completely foreshadows the plot of the sequel. While testing the DeLorean with Marty, Doc Brown goes over some of the possibilities that time travel could allow him to do. One of the things that Doc Brown says is that he could go into the future and see who wins each World Series, something that comes back into play in Back to the Future Part II.
In Back to the Future Part II, Old Biff steals a sports almanac and gives it to 1955 Biff, allowing him to know the scores of virtually every sports game. Because of this, Biff is able to bet on the games and amass a great fortune, allowing him to become the tycoon that he is in Back to the Future Part II‘s alternate 1985 timeline.
5 Doc Brown’s Shirt Foreshadows Back To The Future Part III
Set Up In Back To The Future Part II, Paid Off In Back To The Future Part III
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Doc Brown gets a complete change of outfit in Back to the Future Part II, with this shirt perfectly foreshadowing the events of the third film. Upon returning to 1985 from his time in 1955, Doc Brown is seen sporting a new Hawaiian shirt with an interesting pattern. This shirt features a repeating pattern of trains and cowboys riding horses, which only made sense once the story of Back to the Future Part III was revealed.
In Back to the Future Part III, Doc and Marty go back in time to 1885, with the cowboys on Doc’s shirt representing this Wild West setting. On top of that, the film ends with Doc and Marty using a locomotive as a time machine, something that is foreshadowed by the trains on Doc’s shirt in the second film.
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4 Part II’s Clint Eastwood Western Sets Up Marty’s Part III Plan
Set Up In Back To The Future Part II, Paid Off In Back To The Future Part III
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In Back to the Future Part III, Marty McFly gets into a dangerous gunfight, with him only surviving due to the help of his bulletproof vest. The way in which this vest is used is surprisingly unique for Marty due to his 1985 origins, with some fans believing that he came up with the idea due to Doc’s bulletproof vest in the first film. However, there is another explanation.
In Back to the Future Part II‘s alternate 1985 timeline, Biff Tannen is watching the Clint Eastwood film A Fistful of Dollars. Tannen is specifically watching a scene in which Eastwood’s character uses a metal bulletproof vest when Marty walks up, with the character’s viewing of this scene potentially influencing him to try this strategy when he made it back to the times of the Wild West in the third film.
3 Hill Valley’s Clock Is Unloaded In The Background Of Back To The Future Part III
Set Up In Back To The Future, Paid Off In Back To The Future Part III
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The Hill Valley clock is one of the most famous pieces of iconography in the Back to the Future franchise, with the courthouse clock tower being an ever-present symbol throughout the franchise. Hill Valley’s clock tower is the setting of the climax of the first film, with Doc and Marty using it to send Marty back to 1985 due to their knowledge of a dangerous lightning strike.
Interestingly, Back to the Future Part III actually shows the origins of this clock tower, although many fans didn’t notice it. In the background of one of the scenes that is set in 1885, the famous Hill Valley clock can be seen getting unloaded, with it presumably being connected to the courthouse shortly after and operating until the 1955 lightning strike.
2 The Clock Above The Toilet In Back To The Future Part III
Set Up In Back To The Future, Paid Off In Back To The Future Part III
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The Flux Capacitor is the key to time travel in the world of Back to the Future, and Doc Brown famously came up with the invention in a pretty hilarious way. In the first film, it is explained that Doc was hanging a clock above his toilet before he fell and hit his head. When he woke up, the idea of the Flux Capacitor came to him, giving him the power to create the DeLorean time machine.
This gag is paid off two movies later, when the film finally shows off Doc Brown’s bathroom. Sure enough, a clock can be seen hanging above his toilet, with this being one of the most significant Back to the Future Easter eggs.
Related 10 Mistakes That Made It Into The Back To The Future Movies
All three of the Back to the Future movies have a few minor errors which fans have spotted over the years, but they add to the franchise’s charm.
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1 Part III’s Marty Remembers To Check For His Pants After The Original Back To The Future
Set Up In Back To The Future, Paid Off In Back To The Future Part III
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One of the strangest and most subtle moments in the Back to the Future franchise occurs in Back to the Future Part III, with many hardcore fans still not getting a reference in one scene. While in 1885, Marty McFly wakes up and prepares to crawl out of bed. Before getting up, however, he looks under his blanket and checks for his pants, with him only getting out of bed after this moment of hesitation.
This is an incredibly subtle callback to a scene in the first Back to the Future. After waking up in his mom’s bed in 1955, Marty discovers that his mother removed his pants while he was sleeping, leading to some embarrassment. The final Back to the Future film perfectly pays this off, implying that the moment scarred Marty so much that he can’t help but check before getting out of bed.
Back to the Future PGAdventureComedyFamilySci-Fi Where to Watch
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Marty McFly, a 17-year-old high school student, is accidentally sent 30 years into the past in a time-traveling DeLorean invented by his close friend, the maverick scientist Doc Brown. In 1955, he meets his parents when they were his age, and must step in to make sure they wind up together before he gets back to 1985.
Director Robert Zemeckis Release Date July 3, 1985 Studio(s) Universal Pictures Distributor(s) Universal Pictures Writers Robert Zemeckis , Bob Gale Cast Claudia Wells , Christopher Lloyd , James Tolkan , Thomas F. Wilson , Michael J. Fox , Wendie Jo Sperber , Crispin Glover , Marc McClure , Lea Thompson Runtime 116 minutes Budget $19 million Main Genre Sci-Fi Expand