Alternative ending "Back to the Future"

Actor John Cryer, who auditioned for the role of Marty McFly for Back to the Future, revealed that the script that he read before audition was significantly different from what was included in the final version. In a thread format, he spoke about the differences that he remembered. Lifehacker prepared the translation.

It opened with Marty McFly playing the Close Encounters theme on his electric guitar while he pirated a VHS cassette of the movie.

- Jon Cryer (@MrJonCryer) July 28, 2020

The film began with Marty McFly playing the Electric Guitar theme from Close Encounters of the Third Degree, recording the film itself on a VHS tape.

And the time machine wasn’t a Delorean that had to travel at 88 miles per hour and have 1.21 gigawatts of power but just… well… a time machine that needed nuclear fission and a secret ingredient that turned out to be ...

- Jon Cryer (@MrJonCryer) July 28, 2020

And the time machine was not a DeLorean, which needed to hit 88 mph and get 1.21 GW of power. It was just... well... an ordinary time machine that was powered by nuclear fission and the secret ingredient that turned out to be ...

Coca-Cola

(Swear to god)

- Jon Cryer (@MrJonCryer) July 28, 2020

… Coca-Cola (I swear I'm not kidding).

The final sequence didn’t involve a clock tower or a lightning bolt, but instead finds Marty sneaking onto a atom bomb test site with his time machine to be near the nuclear fission that he needs for it to work.

In an eerie scene he finds ...

- Jon Cryer (@MrJonCryer) July 28, 2020

In the final part of the film, there was no clock tower and lightning. Instead, Marty infiltrated the nuclear test site, as his time machine needs to be close to nuclear decay to operate.

The test site is complete with exquisitely detailed suburban houses and mannequins to simulate the effects of an atomic explosion on an American town.

- Jon Cryer (@MrJonCryer) July 28, 2020

In an eerie scene, he discovers a detailed city with fake houses and mannequins. This is all done to assess the effect of an explosion in an ordinary American town.

He gets the time machine in place, the atom bomb is about to go off, he’s reaching for the Coca-Cola, the countdown is at 10, 9, 8... when he slips and drops the bottle !!

It shatters on the ground

He’s all out of Coke!

- Jon Cryer (@MrJonCryer) July 28, 2020

The time machine is in place, before the explosion is a matter of seconds. Marty reaches for a bottle of cola and... drops it, smashing it to smithereens! And, of course, he has no other bottle.

He panics (understandably) but then remembers: he’s in the 1950’s and any self respecting American suburban home has a bottle of Coke in ...

- Jon Cryer (@MrJonCryer) July 28, 2020

He panics (which is quite logical), and then remembers that he was in the 50s and that every self-respecting American family has a bottle of cola in the refrigerator.

The refrigerator! He checks and sure enough, there’s one in there. He pours it in the time machine but then realizes ...

- Jon Cryer (@MrJonCryer) July 28, 2020

He finds a bottle, pours Coke into the time machine and realizes ...

Oh crap! He has to figure out how to survive an atomic explosion!

Again, he panics.

But then it dawns on him, there’s a lead-lined box nearby, otherwise known as ...

- Jon Cryer (@MrJonCryer) July 28, 2020

... that he hadn't thought about how to survive the atomic explosion! He panics again. But then he remembers that a large lead box was very conveniently nearby.

A refrigerator.

He climbs in, closes the door behind him, the bomb goes off, the time machine activates, and he’s simultaneously shot #BackToTheFuture

- Jon Cryer (@MrJonCryer) July 28, 2020

He's a refrigerator. Marty climbs into it, the bomb explodes, the time machine activates, sending him back to the future.

Does this sequence sound familiar to anyone?

- Jon Cryer (@MrJonCryer) July 28, 2020

Does this scene sound familiar to anyone?

I can hear you all collectively screaming “Yes, yes, Jon!! It does! Clearly Spielberg loved the scene and repurposed it decades later for a much-maligned scene in INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL!! ”

- Jon Cryer (@MrJonCryer) July 28, 2020

I can still hear you shouting “Yes, John, of course!! Apparently Spielberg loved this scene so much that he later used it in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull!! "

I love how you were all on the same page about that.

- Jon Cryer (@MrJonCryer) July 28, 2020

I'm glad we agreed.

In the end he asked from Ben Stiller, who also auditioned for the role, whether he saw this version of the script, or received an already reworked version. Ben repliedthat no longer remembers anything about listening, so it's unclear how long the creators held on to this version.

In the comments user unsubscribedthat I heard that the scene with the refrigerator was abandoned because they were afraid that after watching the movie some child would climb into the refrigerator and close there. There is no confirmation of this theory, but it sounds pretty convincing. It is also ironic that the script mentions Coca-Cola, but in the final version Pepsi became the advertising partner.

What do you think of this version of the film? Sounds cool, or is the final script much better? Share your opinion in the comments!