These deepfake videos have become all the rage lately. The concept is when someone takes a scene from a movie or talk show appearance and superimposes someone else’s face onto the actor’s body. It’s weird, creepy and perhaps even borderline criminal considering rights issues.
One of the more popular deepfakes though sees Spider-Man himself, Tom Holland, as Marty McFly and Iron Man, Robert Downey Jr., as Doc Brown in Back to the Future. It really is incredible what one can do with a computer these days. The scene in question is uncanny to the point where it could just be deleted footage from Avengers: Infinity War. And when a video like this comes out, it creates speculation, curiosity and possibly excitement over the notion of a new Back to the Future.
Holland has seen the clip, of course, and while promoting his new Pixar film, Onward, he revealed that at one point, there was talk about remaking Back to the Future. Fortunately, though, he’s hesitant about doing so, saying:
“I’d be lying if I said there hadn’t been conversations in the past about doing some sort of remake. But that film is the most perfect film, or one of the most perfect films, one that could never be made better.”
This is absolutely true. There would be no point in it except to maybe create awareness that the original trilogy exists. The notion of Holland and Downey Jr. playing the two parts makes sense, though, as their relationship in the Marvel films is similar to that of McFly and Doc. Holland, in particular, appears to already be doing a Michael J. Fox impression in his portrayal of Peter Parker.
But still, a remake is unlikely to ever happen. Not as long as original director Robert Zemeckis and co-writer Bob Gale are alive, at least. A remake, reboot or sequel has been rumored for years now, but the original filmmakers have no intention of making the property available.
After all, there are certain movies that you should just never touch. Jaws, Rocky, and Die Hard are some that come to mind and Back to the Future belongs on that list. Like Holland said, it’s perfect, and there’s no need to mess with perfection, right?