Back to the Future Day: 6 predictions about 2015 the classic sci-fi film got right

Great Scott! October 21st 2015 is the date Marty McFly travelled to in Back to the Future II
Christopher Lloyd as Doc in Back to the Future 2
Universal
Liz Connor21 October 2015

It’s been a long wait for science fiction fans, but we’re finally here. This Wednesday October 21 marks the date that Marty Mcfly and Dr. Emett Brown time travelled to in the second installment of the Back to the Future trilogy in the iconic, albeit temperamental, DeLorean DMC-12.

Cast your mind back to 1989 - when the film was released - and you might remember Doc plugging the date into the car’s dashboard before they were whisked into a tech-loaded future in the fictional town of Hill Valley, California.

Doc and Marty travel to October 21st 2015 in the film
Universal

Twenty-six years after the film was released, it’s already becoming clear that there are more than a few zany inventions thought up by the scriptwriters that will stay as works of Eighties fiction - dehydrated pizza, anyone? But misfires aside, what did the film actually manage to predict correctly about our reality?

Hoverboards

We aren’t yet riding the kind of levitating skateboards Marty used in the film, but this year Lexus unveiled a promising prototype that commandeers with the same smoothness as Mattel’s board in Back to the Future II.

Marty McFly clutches his hoverboard in Back to the Future part II (Picture: Universal)
Universal

Frustratingly, the board works using electromagnetic levitation - which means it will only currently work in Lexus’ purpose-built, magnet-loaded skatepark and isn’t likely to hit the market any time soon. And after last week’s “hoverboards in public places” ban, we’ll have to settle with riding 2015’s clunky self-balancing segways around our gardens until someone comes along with the real deal.

The Lexus hoverboard
Lexus

Skype

Back in 1989, instead of texting ‘Netflix and chill?’, we were still using the landline to call up potential dates and ask them around to watch BBC1 before the midnight closedown. But these days, this concept seems more foreign to us than the Skype-inspired devices Marty’s kids use to video call their friends.

Back to the Future - In pictures

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Kanye’s Nike collaboration

Are we right in thinking that Mr. West might have a soft spot for the film franchise? You just need to take one look at Marty’s footwear in the film and Kanye’s 2012 Yeezy II footwear collaboration with Nike to see the similarities. Hmmn…

Kanye's Nike Air Yeezy II trainer
Nike
Marty McFly's Nike Air Mag's in Back to the Future II
Universal

Self-tying shoes

And on the subject of shoes… according to Tinker Hatfield, the designer of the Nike Air MAG’s featured on the feet of Marty McFly in Back to the Future Part 2, 2015 is officially going be the year we see these shoes in real life–complete with power laces. Yes, you read that correctly. The shoes will be an upgraded version of the 2011 Nike MAG, and feature “power laces” - motorised rollers sense weight and tighten the laces when a foot is placed in the shoe.

Nike are set to make Marty's self-tying shoes a reality
NIKE/Ross Parry

Virtual reality

In Back to the Future II Marty loses his mind when he sees his kids using wearable tech goggles to watch their favourite TV shows. And while this might have seemed fantastical to cinema audiences in 1989, VR technologies like Microsoft’s HoloLens and a consumer version of Oculus Rift are already poised to hit households next year.

Driverless cars

Okay, so our cars don’t fly, but as Doc Brown pointed out: “This sucker’s electrical”, and driverless, electric autos are already here. Carmakers such as Audi, Mercedes-Benz and Tesla are testing them on public roads around the U.S., readying technology that will change the way we commute, not to mention our takeaway deliveries. Now, we just need to work out how to fit them with a flux capacitor...

Universal

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