In Back to the Future Part II, the holographic picture fading technology used so effectively in the original film is employed to show either Marty McFly, Jr. or Griff’s gang being arrested for theft on October 21st. Yesterday, USA Today recreated the iconic paper as a special commemorative issue—we’re reporting on it today because today, October 22, is the day the paper actually comes out, and there is nothing we love more than being meta. Also, wait, if Marty Jr. was actually arrested in our timeline, what happened to Doc and 1985 Marty? Did their bid to change the future fail? Whoa, this is heavy…
Vanity Fair pointed out that there is one big difference between the film’s version, and the one you found on newsstands. If you look at the headlines in the top right and on the left side of the film’s original paper below, you’ll see a mention of “Queen Diana’s” visit to the U.S. Obviously, this aspect of the future never came to pass.
It was a fun decision by USA Today to celebrate Back to the Future Day with the iconic paper, but obviously it meant they had to grapple with our current timeline. Sidestepping mention of Princess Diana was probably the most tasteful option open to them, but it’s also interesting to note that the movie paper promises a woman president while Hillary Clinton is currently battling the Darkest Timeline President Biff Tannen Donald Trump.
You can see the entire paper, which includes some fun inside jokes about George McFly’s novel, A Match Made in Space, a hoverboarding dog, and people’s gullibility, over at Vanity Fair’s site.
