A new book, Back to the Future: The Complete Screenplay, has been confirmed by franchise co-creator Bob Gale, who has drawn on the series' archive to mark the 40th anniversary of the original 1985 film. Gale says the book will serve as an instructional look at how movies are made and scripts are written, including mistakes, deleted scenes and material that was changed or abandoned during production. The article uses this news as a springboard to reflect on the enduring popularity of the trilogy, and notably on the resurgence of its least-favoured instalment.

Back to the Future Part III, the 1990 threequel that shifts the time-travel story into a Western setting, is now enjoying a streaming revival, officially ranking among the ten most-streamed films worldwide on HBO Max some 36 years after its release. The original film, directed by Robert Zemeckis and starring Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd, is now 41 years old. The 1989 sequel earned $332 million globally against a reported $40 million budget, while Part III took a comparatively modest $244 million on the same budget.