The complexities of time travel were evident in the Back to the Future trilogy and the scattered settings made it difficult to determine character ages, especially when it came to Emmett Brown. The character, who went by “Doc,” was played by Christopher Lloyd in all installments of the franchise. Doc was the inventor of the first time machine built from a DeLorean sports car. His research and thirst for knowledge created a huge mess when his young friend, Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox), was sent back in time.
Throughout the Back to the Future film series, the core characters traveled to a handful of different time periods including 1955, 2015, and 1885. These were in addition to the primary 1985 setting. With the different timelines, there were different versions of Doc and Marty which further complicated matters. That said, it was still possible to track the characters as they jumped between time and space.Doc’s age wasn’t directly stated in the movie developed by Robert Zemeckis. Since the trilogy’s release, the Back to the Future universe expanded with an animated TV show, short film, and a video game. Doc’s birth year varied but the only material considered canon was the novelizations of the original trilogy. These books expanded versions of Zemeckis’ script so according to canon, Doc was born 1920, making the eccentric scientist a man in his mid-60s when he was introduced. Here’s a breakdown of his various ages in the movie franchise.
Doc’s age wasn’t directly stated in the movie developed by Robert Zemeckis. Since the trilogy’s release, the Back to the Future universe expanded with an animated TV show, short film, and a video game. Doc’s birth year varied but the only material considered canon was the novelizations of the original trilogy. These books expanded versions of Zemeckis’ script so according to canon, Doc was born 1920, making the eccentric scientist a man in his mid-60s when he was introduced. Here’s a breakdown of his various ages in the movie franchise.
Back To The Future (1985)
When Back to the Future began, Doc and Marty were in the midst of time-travel experimentation in October 1985. When the duo was attacked by terrorists for stealing plutonium, Doc was around 65-years-old according to details made canon by the novelization. Marty used the DeLorean to travel back to November 1955 where he was forced to find that timeline’s version of Doc. In 1955, Doc was only 35 and had yet to discover the keys to time travel. When the movie debuted, Lloyd was 46 but adjusted his appearance through makeup for the various timelines.
Back To The Future Part II (1989)
With knowledge of the future, Marty was able to prevent Doc’s death during the terrorist attack. At some point, Doc used the DeLorean and traveled to October 2015. He then returned in the primary timeline to retrieve Marty and his girlfriend to assist their future children. This version of Doc was still in his mid-60s since it was the original character. Doc and Marty were forced back to 1955 after altering the timeline of events. While there, they both briefly encounter the 1955 version of Doc who was in his 30s. When Back to the Future Part II premiered, Lloyd was 51-years-old.
Back To The Future Part III (1990)
Marty fixed the timeline at the end of Back to the Future Part II but Doc was sent back to 1885 and trapped. With the help of 1955 Doc, Marty used time travel to save his friend in the final film of the trilogy. The Doc in focus was the original version in his mid-60s. Doc wound up staying in the 1885 timeline to build a life with Clara but the couple time-traveled to 1985 to reunite with Marty at the end of the Back to the Future trilogy. By then, Doc had two sons, indicating that years had passed. He was probably in his early or mid-70s in his final scene whereas Lloyd was still about 51 since both sequels were shot back-to-back.
Credit to: Kara Hedash of ScreenRant
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