It was 1.21 jigawatts of joy for fans when “Back to the Future” stars Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd reunited Oct. 8 at New York Comic Con.
The co-stars shared a warm embrace as they took the stage to a thunderous round of applause from those in attendance.
The pair answered questions from fans, and Fox gushed about working with Lloyd and how he brought the eccentric scientist Doc Brown to life.
“No one wants to do exposition because it’s boring … The freaking thing is you retain it all, because he’s just so good at it, and he’s brilliantly entertaining … I would be like, ‘I gotta watch my ass, because this guy will blow me off the screen,’” Fox said, according to Uproxx.
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Fox, of course, was not the first actor cast as accidental time-traveling teenager Marty McFly. The role initially went to Eric Stoltz, who was fired from the film after a few weeks of shooting when the director and others decided Stoltz wasn't the best fit for the role. Lloyd said working with Fox was a magical experience, even though they didn’t know each other prior to working on the film.
“I didn’t know Michael other than hearing about him,” he said. “And I felt that I had barely made it through the six weeks, and now I was going to have to do it again?”
“There was immediate chemistry, as they say,” he added.
“Back to the Future,” which was released in 1985 and spawned two sequels, has proven to be one of the most enduring movies in film history. Seeing the franchise’s two stars together over the weekend warmed the internet.
“If you were a teenager in 1985, then Michael J. Fox was your guy,” one person tweeted. “Marty McFly in Back to the Future is the coolest teenager in cinema history. Watching him hug Christopher Lloyd like this is so beautiful.”
“Michael J Fox and Christopher Lloyd. This iconic duo from Back to the Future, always in my heart,” someone else wrote.
“Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd reunited at NYC Comic Con today *I’m not crying, you’re crying,” another fan commented.
“This is what we all need right now. Folks throwing their arms around each other,” TODAY’s Al Roker wrote on Instagram. “Thanks, @newyorkcomiccon for bringing @mrchristopherlloyd and @realmikejfox together.”
Even Lloyd himself posted about the reunion with his co-star, writing: "I cherish these moments! Thank you to @newyorkcomiccon , my dear friend @realmikejfox , and most importantly all you wonderful fans who show up year after year. This is all because of you! This is heavy!"
Fox, 61, announced in 2020 he was retiring from acting, due in part to memorization issues connected to his Parkinson’s disease. He also created the Michael J. Fox Foundation to fund research into finding a cure. It’s been more than three decades since he was diagnosed with the disease, yet he remains grateful to Lloyd and all the people who have supported him.
“Parkinson’s is the gift that keeps on taking — but it’s a gift, and I wouldn’t change it for anything,” he told the crowd at Comic Con. “People like Chris have been there a lot for me, and so many of you have. It’s not about what I have, it’s about what I’ve been given — the voice to get this done, and help people out.”
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