Josh Gad's Back To The Future reunion was pretty great, even without Crispin Glover and Thomas F. Wilson
Zoom reunions are becoming commonplace these days, but Frozen star Josh Gad’s swiftly emerged as the master of this dystopian new format. First, the actor gathered together everyone from Steven Spielberg to Corey Feldman for a Goonies reunion, and now he’s accomplished a similar feat with another beloved staple, Back To The Future.
Today, via his Reunited Apart project, Gad secured franchise stars Christopher Lloyd, Michael J. Fox, Lea Thompson, Mary Steenburgen, and Elisabeth Shue in addition to director Robert Zemeckis, composer Alan Silvestri, screenwriter Bob Gale, and even Huey Lewis himself. (No Biff? Denied!) Rounding it out is J.J. Abrams, a diehard fan of the series. As fans flocked to see the stars mingle, they were also encouraged to donate to Project Hope, a relief organization committed to empowering health workers.
There’s lots to love about Gad’s get-together, which begins with Lloyd demanding they not discuss Back To The Future. Forced to improvise, a crestfallen Gad then asks if Lloyd’s Taxi character would be pro or anti-time travel (“Pro,” says Lloyd, so there’s that).
As more and more participants are introduced, Gad tests their memories and gets Lloyd and Thompson to each reenact some of iconic scenes with Fox. Gad himself even steps in as George for an absent Crispin Glover, though he’s quick to acknowledge that he’s no Crispin Glover (granted, nobody is—except for maybe his dad).
Later, Zemeckis reflects on the kind of direction he gives to actors (“faster and funnier”), and joins Gale in chuckling about the alternate title suggested by a studio executive: Spaceman From Pluto. Perhaps most amusing, however, is the general befuddlement amongst everyone over the franchise’s influence on Rick And Morty, which nobody seems to have actually seen. Lloyd, however, would love to see what would happen if Doc and Marty actually met Rick and Morty on a “meteor or something.” “You’ve got all four of them there, and then what do you do?” he asks Gale, who couldn’t possibly care less.
(Gale, however, did recently take a moment to address the “plot hole” regarding why George and Lorraine don’t recognize their son as the weird guy who helped bring them together once upon a time.)
Finally, Gad offers a Zoom preview of the brand new Back To The Future musical, which had the unfortunate luck of opening in the U.K. this past February. Enjoy it, ‘cause it ain’t reopening anytime soon.
Watch the full reunion above.
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