Summary
Chances are you’ve seenBack to the Future, but have you seen any of the various spin-off projects that were birthed from the franchise? Like the ride that used to be at Universal Studios Hollywood? Or the new Broadway productionthat opened this year? Have you read the manga adaptation? If you said yes to that last one, you are a filthy liar, because while therewasgoing to be aBack to the Futuremanga, the project was ultimately canceled.
This is a shame because it was not only going to introduce the story to a new generation of fans, it was reported that it would also touch on some stories that the movies never got around to telling. Original producer Bob Gale was overseeing the project and everything was looking great. So what went wrong? Let’s discuss the unfortunate story of why theBack to the Futuremanga was canceled.
What is Back to the Future?
Although it hardly needs an introduction,Back to the Futureis a popular science fiction film released in 1985, directed by Robert Zemeckis andproduced by Steven Spielberg. The story revolves around Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox), a teenager who accidentally travels back in time from 1985 to 1955 in a time-traveling DeLorean car invented by his eccentric scientist friend, Dr. Emmett Brown (Christopher Lloyd).
While in 1955, Marty inadvertently interferes with his parents' meeting and must ensure they fall in love or risk altering the course of history and erasing his own existence. Nominated for 4 Academy Awards,Back to the Futureis considered by many to be one of the greatest science fiction comedies of all time. It was followed by two sequels, an animated TV series,a video game, and (most recently) a Broadway musical.
The franchise has a reputation for continuing strong despite no new films being made in over thirty years. This is partly because while producer Bob Gale is opposed to making new films in the series, he is not opposed to expanding the franchise outside of film. This included a planned manga adaptation by Hiro Mashima.
Who is Yusuke Murata?
Yusuke Murata is a renowned Japanese manga artist best known for his exceptional illustration skills and detailed art. He gained widespread recognition for illustrating the manga adaptation ofOne Punch Man, which is a reimagining of the original webcomic created by the artist ONE. Murata’s rendition ofOne Punch Manhas been serialized in Weekly Young Jump since 2012 and has been instrumental in the series' international popularity due to his highly detailed and dynamic art style.
BeforeOne Punch Man, Murata was also known for his work onEyeshield 21, a manga about American football written by Riichiro Inagaki.Eyeshield 21was serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump in Japan (published by Viz Media in America) and further established Murata’s reputation as a top-tier manga artist. Throughout his career, Murata has been celebrated for his intricate artwork, action sequences, and character designs. It was this reputation that made the creators ofBack to the Futureseek him out when making a potential manga adaptation.
What Happened to the Back to the Future Manga?
When the series was canceled almost three years ago, Murata only made reference to the fact that the manga had been canceled due to “rights issues.” Those rights issues never were disclosed. While it could be due to the fact that they couldn’t come to a deal with Universal (hey, it wouldn’t be theonlydeal they wouldhave failed to make recently), the fact that Bob Gale was overseeing the project and several pages of artwork were produced shows that the project got pretty far into development,
Trust us: You don’t get this far into development if you don’t think you’ve got a deal. No, a more likely scenario might have been the fact that while the characters are property of Universal, Spielberg, Zemeckis, and Gale, the actors' likenesses still belong to the actors themselves. That means either a payout would need to be made for this project, royalties would have to be paid, or both.
While we are entering speculation territory at this point (so no one quotes this as fact), if this WAS the issue it’s unlikely thatMichael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, or Lea Thompson were issues in this regard, considering how many conventions they have attended (and in some cases still cameo as the characters themselves). It is also unlikely that Thomas F. Wilson would be an issue, considering his reputation in Hollywood for being a genuinely nice guy who (as far as we could tell) has never once denied a fan a picture or autograph.
However, if there is one person who has had legal issues concerning likeness rights in the past, it’s Crispin Glover (George McFly), who famously sued the producers when they used stock footage of his part from the first film without his permission (and didn’t pay for that use). Furthermore, Glover has a reputation for being difficult to work within the Hollywood system. While it is far from confirmed, it would not be surprising to learn if someone like him created a legal hurdle in getting the final project finished.
Or, for all we know, maybe there were simple disagreements over who would publish the book and how it would be distributed worldwide? These situations aren’t entirely uncommon (one of the reasons Disney has a longpartnership with Tokyopopis to avoid problems like these), it just appears there was a bigger hurdle to clear than anticipated. It’s a shame we won’t see the final project, but at least Murata shared some of the finished pages so that we can dream of what could have been.
