If science fiction has taught us anything, it’s that time is a “big ball of wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey stuff.” And today’s superhero franchises have certainly been having fun with multiple universes, as well as multiple timelines. But you can’t beat a classic time travel movie – and that’s exactly what Back to the Future is.
The other important lesson that time travel movies have taught us is about the butterfly effect. Changing one small thing in the past can have catastrophic effects on the present – see the Simpsons Treehouse of Horror segment ‘Time and Punishment’ for a good demonstration of this concept.
And another golden rule is that you should never, ever meet yourself – even if it means you can admire your own ass (looking at you, Steve Rogers). If there’s one person who should be crystal clear on these rules, it’s Christopher Lloyd, who of course plays Doc Emmett Brown in the Back to the Future trilogy. But it looks as though he has walked into a potentially fatal trap by meeting himself.
Lloyd tweeted a photo of himself next to Doc Brown with the words; “Oh no, I’ve encountered my future self! The consequences could be disastrous!” Both Lloyd and Brown look shocked by this turn of events and are clearly milliseconds away from crying; “Great Scott!”
We hope that the ripples caused by this haven’t affected you too badly, but brace yourself for an army of clones to come out of your fridge (or something). Christopher Lloyd and Michael J. Fox recently shared an emotional reunion at New York Comic Con, and Michael J. Fox has an idea for a Back to the Future reboot.
If you’re a fan of classic sci fi, check out our guide to all of the incarnations of Doctor Who, ranked – to see whether you agree or disagree.