‘Back to the Future’ Cast Joins the Hunt for Iconic Movie Guitar

June 4, 20252 min read

Neighbor, would you like me to read the news to you?

Gibson has partnered with the stars of Back to the Future to launch a search for the renowned guitar that Marty McFly played in the film.

The 1985 classic, a cornerstone of comedy cinema, has one of its most memorable scenes featuring McFly (played by Michael J. Fox) performing “Johnny B. Goode” for a puzzled audience of 1950s teenagers at a high school prom. In an alternate timeline of the film, Marvin Berry (played by Harry Waters Jr.), Chuck Berry’s cousin, hears McFly’s performance and introduces Chuck to a new sound, effectively “creating” rock and roll.

In that iconic scene, Fox strums a cherry red ES-345 Gibson guitar, which has unfortunately gone missing over the years. A new documentary, produced by Gibson, aims to uncover its whereabouts.

In the trailer for Lost to The Future, writer Bob Gale is joined by stars Fox, Waters, Christopher Lloyd, and Lea Thompson in a heartfelt plea to recover the instrument. They encourage anyone with information to call 1-855-345-1955 or visit their website.

“We need your help to find the guitar I played in Back to the Future,” Fox says in the video. “It’s either lost in the space-time continuum or sitting in some teamster’s garage.”

Waters adds, “No one has seen that guitar since 1985, so ask your friends, relatives, and bandmates.” The segment concludes with Fox being playfully interrupted by Huey Lewis, who echoes his film cameo by telling him, “You’re just too damn loud.”

The Back to the Future trilogy, released between 1985 and 1990, has inspired numerous spin-offs, including a video game, a stage musical, and an animated series. However, the film’s creators have firmly stated that there will never be a fourth movie, with Gale recently expressing, “When people ask, ‘When are you going to do Back to the Future 4?’ we say, ‘Never!’”