Marty McFly: Dominic Sessa
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There are two different approaches when putting together the cast for a high-profile remake. One is to find an actor who will embody the original and essentially try to replicate a beloved character (think Alden Ehrenreich in Solo). The other is to choose an actor who will reimagine that character and make it entirely their own (like Jeff Bridges in True Grit).
In the case of finding the next Marty McFly, we might be able to find someone who can do both. Dominic Sessa, who impressed in his delightful debut performance in The Holdovers, appears to have the chops to pull it off.
Dr. Emmett Brown: Sterling K. Brown
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You could go in a million different directions with this one, and honestly, there are no bad answers. If you’re looking for actors who can be a variation of the “Doc Brown” we know and love, then a Bill Hader or a Kate McKinnon is what you’re in the market for.
What would be more interesting, though, would be to tap an actor who will go in a completely different direction. Robert Downey Jr. would likely have a lot of fun with a role like this. Ultimately, it would be great to see an actor like Sterling K. Brown get a chance to blow the doors off with an unhinged mad scientist character.
George McFly: Cooper Hoffman
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We feel for any actor who has to fill Crispin Glover’s odd, peculiar shoes. Though Doc and Marty are the pair that pop culture remembers at the center of the movie (there’s a whole cartoon that riffs on this), the actual most important pair in the original Back to the Future is Marty and his father.
George is an impossibly shy nerd, more interested in “bird watching” and science fiction than he is in standing up for himself. Cooper Hoffman, star of the acclaimed Licorice Pizza, could do some great work in this role.
Note: in this version, George will definitely not have met his future wife because he was an amateur Peeping Tom.
Lorraine Barnes: Sadie Sink
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Whoever is fortunate enough to be cast as Lorraine Baines McFly in a Back to the Future remake will need a lot of versatility. Not only are you portraying a love-struck high school girl who is the object of both George and Biff’s affections, but you also have to play a present-day 40-something mom coping with disappointment and a low-level drinking problem. Lea Thompson handled both incredibly well thanks to some excellent makeup for the era.
Looking at her work in projects like The Whale, Stranger Things, and Fear Street, Sadie Sink appears to have the range to handle this challenge.
Principal Strickland: Viola Davis
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James Tolkan brought a brilliant intensity every time he graced our screens, so no surprise that he turned what might have been a nothing character into a scene-stealing authoritarian principle who looks so wound up he might burst like a tomato at any moment.
Though she has surely become too big of a name and won too many awards to take the part, in a perfect world Viola Davis would crush it as our new Principal Strickland. She can bring that 1994 Principal energy the part needs (1994 being the nostalgic 30-years-ago past of a Back to the Future movie made today).
Jennifer Parker: Rachel Zegler
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This is another example of casting a bigger name in your first movie for what is a very small role because they will get a lot more to do in the sequel.
Jennifer Parker is Marty’s girlfriend and, in one potential future, his eventual wife and mother of his children. Rachel Zegler, who recently starred in West Side Story and the recent Hunger Games sequels, would be a good choice here. She would pair well with our Marty and also get a chance to flex her potential comedic chops if our remake does well enough to merit a sequel.
Biff Tannen: Lucas Hedges
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Have they invented a new, younger Hemsworth brother that is the right age for this part? No? Bummer.
Talk about an impossible task, Thomas F. Wilson did such an incredible job portraying the generational McFly bully Biff Tannen that audiences couldn’t see him as anything but. Of course, you want to cast for the movie at hand, but you also need to be sure to choose someone who could also potentially give us techno Griff, Mad Dog, Old Biff, and even the Trump-alternate 1985 version as well.
Lucas Hedges is as good a choice as any. A versatile, talented young actor who is also a few years older than the rest of the cast to give him a little extra edge when playing the legendary bully.
Biff’s Goons: Please Don’t Destroy
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Though they aren’t as big of a part in the original, Biff’s gang features prominently in Back to the Future Part II and care should be taken to find actors who will be able to make the most of their limited screen time. Also, sharp-eyed fans will remember that a young Billy Zane got his start in film playing Match so this shouldn’t be an afterthought.
Comedy trio Please Don’t Destroy — Ben Marshall, John Higgins, Martin Herlihy — would be perfect as Match, 3-D, and Skinhead (though maybe we rethink that name). We’ll even let them decide amongst themselves who plays who.
Einstein: Messi
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Of course, we all know and love the performance Tiger gave in the original Back to the Future playing Doc Brown’s dog companion. Though he is only in a handful of scenes, Einstein is a hugely important character in the series lore, as he is the first living being to travel through time.
The best choice today would unquestionably be Messi, the border collie who was the breakout star of Anatomy of a Fall. Already one of the best boys in movie history, this would be an absolute casting coup and bring a level of star power to this remake.
The Director: Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert
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It has to be said that remaking Back to the Future is probably a terrible idea. It will likely be impossible to capture lighting in a bottle (or rather, a Flux Capacitor) with this concept the way director Robert Zemeckis did in 1985. Still, on a long enough timeline, it is something that is going to happen, so best to just accept that and have some fun.
Who should direct such a remake? Studios should find someone who will approach the source material in a way that’s new and unexpected — or in this case two someones. The Daniels, who gave us Everything Everywhere All At Once, are a no-brainer choice.
