Watch Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd come together in moving ‘Back to the Future’ reunion
37 years after the film’s release, 1980s legends Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd have reunited at the 2022 New York Comic Con (NYCC)—fulfilling the Back to the Future fandom’s wildest fantasies and causing everyone on the internet to lose themselves in a nostalgic fever dream.
Michael J. Fox (who played Marty Mcfly) and Christopher Lloyd (Dr Emmett Brown aka ‘Doc’) collectively helped create one of the most popular film franchises of the 20th century. Back to the Future thrilled audiences with its comedic script, hoverboards, time-travel and, of course, luminescent 80s outfits that inspired an entire generation.
Understandably, these films have a pretty die-hard fandom, whose love and adoration has yet to dwindle despite the films having been released over almost four decades ago. It appears, however, to have all been worth it. On 8 October 2022, the NYCC welcomed two of the film’s most iconic characters for a heart-warming reunion in front of fans—and, as predicted, the internet lapped it up.
Fox and Lloyd hadn’t made a public appearance together since they featured on a special Jimmy Kimmel Live! sketch in 2015, therefore their in-person meeting at this year’s Comic Con was a truly special occasion.
Fox, 61, made his way onto the stage and treated the audience to an air guitar version of a Marty McFly iconic moment. He was then joined by Lloyd, 83, on the centre of the stage—where the pair hugged and sat down together to answer a series of questions.
Twitter was almost immediately inundated with posts from fans, both at the talk and at home, gushing about the two sci-fi legends. One user tweeted a clip of the pair hugging and captioned it, “Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd reunited at Comic Con is all the wholesome content you need on a Sunday.” Another fan wrote, “This iconic duo from Back to the Future, always in my heart.”
During the convention, some fans were made aware of Fox’s Parkinson’s disease. Despite the actor having been diagnosed all the way back in 1991, many members of the public seemingly didn’t understand the extent of his condition, or that he had been diagnosed at all.
In November 2021, Fox spoke with the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) about his diagnosis and how he came to terms with having Parkinson’s. The actor stated, “Some days are a struggle. Some days are more difficult than others. But the disease is this thing that’s attached to my life—it isn’t the driver. And because I have assets, I have access to things others don’t. I wouldn’t begin to compare my experience to that of a working guy who gets Parkinson’s and has to quit his job and find a new way to live. So, I’m really lucky.”
Since his condition developed, Fox has created the Michael J. Fox Foundation, a non-profit organisation dedicated to finding a cure for Parkinson’s disease through funded research.
Fox’s wife, Tracy Pollen, has also praised her husband’s ability to remain positive throughout any challenges he might face. “I sometimes underestimate the power of his optimism, but time and again, I’ve seen him use it to blast his way back,” she stated.
The actor himself concluded: “People sometimes say that a relative or a parent or a friend died of Parkinson’s. You don’t die of Parkinson’s. You die with Parkinson’s, because once you have it, you have it for life—until we can remedy that, and we’re working hard at it.”
