The 5 Easter eggs from Back to the Future II that announced the third part

Cowboys chasing a train in a clip from A Fistful of Dollars, the second film in the saga predicted the plot of the conclusion of the cult trilogy.

Robert Zemeckis And Bob Gale marked the 1980s, and more broadly the world of cinema and pop culture, with Back to the future. Years later, audiences know its plot and gags like the back of their hand. This crazy story of a teenager, played by Michael J. Fox, who travels through time, meets his young parents and helps them fall in love (Back to the Future I) then discovers his older self in 2015 (Back to the Future II), back when the 2010s were still considered the future. All this, accompanied by a mad scientist played by Christopher Lloyd.

A trilogy where each film fits together so well that one might think that its creators themselves came back from the future to design it – first imagining its ending and then gradually working their way back to its genesis. Zeus' name!

After restoring the flow of time a second time, Marty must in the third installment make a leap into the past to save his friend Doc before the latter ends up six feet under, killed during a settling of scores. His destination: the Wild West. In 1885. Horses, boots and cowboy hats, with Back to the Future III, released in France on July 18, 1990, heading for the Conquest of the West.

Back to the Future III: All the tributes paid by the film to the classic westerns

Filmed at the same time as the second part, it is not surprising to find in the latter a few clues hidden here and there evoking its western theme which will arrive a year later. On the occasion of the 34th anniversary of Back to the Future IIIwe therefore reveal to you five easter eggs which already announced the plot in Back to the Future II.

A “wild west” shirt

Looking back, 2015's fashion left a lot to be desired. Between holographic caps, self-drying jackets, and self-lacing shoes, few of its inventions ultimately saw the light of day. And since you can tell an era by its style, the first thing Marty and Doc do once they arrive in 2015 is swap out their clothes for a more modern ensemble. Mission: blend in.

For Doc, the choice fell on a new, colorful shirt depicting cowboys chasing locomotives. A discreet nod that announces the central theme of Back to the Future III : the western.

But it's also a preview of the epic finale of the third film, when Doc and Marty chase down the steam train they planned to use to return to the future on horseback. But Doc's love interest Clara joins the ride. The locomotive is revved to its maximum to help the dry Dolorean reach 88 miles per hour and return with her companions to her own time.

A life-size arcade game

Every decade is nostalgic for the previous one. If there's one thing Zemeckis and Gale got right, it's the return of the 80s to our time. The proof? The famous Café 80 where the time traveler goes to take his son's place and thus save him a hell of a mess…

The decor is 100% retro. Michael Jackson and Ronald Reagan announce the menu and, at the very back, we can see an arcade game well known to Americans: Wild Gunman. In a western setting, the video game offers the player a series of duels against bandits who must be arrested. Marty demonstrates his shooting skills to two kids who take him for an idiot. Incidentally, among them is the young Elijah Wood in his very first role.

If the kids aren't impressed, the men of the Wild West are! In Back to the Future IIIDoc and Marty find themselves at a party in Hill Valley to celebrate the new clock of the future city hall. While the old man offers a dance with his sweetheart, Marty is invited by a local to prove that he can use a gun in a shooting game that strongly resembles that of Café 80.

He never misses his target and admits to having learned to shoot like this at… Disneyland? The French version chose to modulate the translation for a reference story. In the original version, Marty answers “7-Eleven”an American store sign with, most likely, arcade booths, and therefore… Wild Gunman. Besides, whether in 2015 or in 1885, he performs the same movement with both pistols. The circle is complete!

Doc's Dream

After saving Marty Junior's life and keeping him out of jail, the two friends track down Marty's girlfriend Jennifer, who fainted after coming face to face with her older double. Brought back to the Dolorean to return to 1985, the mad scientist declares that upon his return, he will destroy the time machine so that it does not fall into the hands of the wrong people. Follow my gaze… Biff Tannen.

But it will not be without regret, because Doc had a dream:

“I'll never have the chance to visit my favorite era: the Wild West. (…) I'd better devote myself to the study of the other great mystery of the universe: women.”

How lucky then for him, because in Back to the Future IIIhe will be able to both explore the 19th century and make a charming acquaintance…

A sacred ancestor

Just when everyone thought they were back home, our heroes ended up in a 1985 2.0. This old Biff had recovered the Almanac bought by Marty in 2015 to give to his younger self, in 1955. In possession of this treasure announcing all the winners of all the upcoming sports competitions, Biff was able to amass a nice sum of money and build his empire.

A satire of Trump imperialism before its time, Biff has built a huge multi-story casino in this alternate dimension where he resides. On the ground floor, visitors are greeted by a museum in his honor. Marty makes the astonishing discovery. Tracing his American Dream and the history of the Tannen family through the centuries, there is a character who catches our attention: Biff's great-grandfather, Buford “Molosse” Tannen, presented as “the fastest shooter in the West.”

It is not insignificantly that the creators have put him forward in this museum. Buford is the main antagonist of the third part of the saga. It is he who must assassinate Doc and whom Marty ridicules upon his arrival at the saloon. Outraged, Buford wishes for the death of the young hero and challenges him to a duel.

“What a fucking good movie!”

Among all the references to the western visible in Back to the Future IIIone in particular comes up repeatedly: Clint Eastwood. An emblematic figure of this genre, it is by this surname that Marty will be called in the Far West. “Mart, Clint…Clint Eastwood…” And it is thanks to For a Fistful of Dollars that he survives the duel against Molossus.

As in Sergio Leone's feature film, Marty wears a steel plate under his poncho that serves as a bulletproof vest. A trick that we could have guessed would make an appearance at one point or another. Because remember, it is exactly this excerpt of the duel between the man with no name and Ramon that we already see in Back to the Future II – announcing the coming battle.

In very good company, the new Biff, in his bath, watches this western and exclaims “What a fucking good movie!”

And maybe he's not wrong, really.

While many are talking about a possible Back to the Future IVand despite the actors' disagreements on the subject (and especially Zemeckis' categorical refusal), perhaps the absence of any clue suggesting a fourth part should be taken as a sign: the whole thing was conceived as a trilogy, and it ended in 1990. Thirty-four years ago to the day.

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