Journey to 2015 Future Hill Valley
A dazzling yet cautionary tomorrow that warns against the dangers of the present.
The Journey to 2015 Future Hill Valley is the second major time trip in the Back to the Future saga: on October 26, 1985, Doc Brown takes Marty McFly and Jennifer Parker in the DeLorean to October 21, 2015, to help their future children. Serving as the central act of the trilogy's middle chapter, this excursion explores the consequences of unchecked consumerism, corporate control, and technological dependency while maintaining the franchise's signature blend of comedy and sci-fi adventure.
This future Hill Valley has hovercars and hoverboards and a holographic shark promoting a fictional Jaws 19, and its courthouse has been converted into the Courthouse Mall, the clock on top still preserved at 10:04. The narrative uses this setting not just for spectacle, but as a cautionary backdrop where the small changes made in the present ripple outward to create a world that is simultaneously dazzling and deeply unsettling.
Quick Facts
- Era visited
- October 21, 2015
Lore & Background
Griff Tannen and his gang are arrested after a hoverboard chase with Marty. On arrival Doc incapacitates Jennifer and leaves her asleep in an alley; the police find her and take her to her 2015 home.
Reader's Guide
Upon arriving in 2015, Doc explains that Marty's son, Marty Jr., will be arrested for taking part in a robbery with Biff Tannen's grandson Griff, leading to a chain of events that destroys the McFly family. Doc instructs Marty to switch places with the identical Marty Jr. and refuse Griff's offer, but Griff goads Marty into a fight by calling him "chicken", and a hoverboard chase ensues. Before rejoining Doc, Marty buys an almanac containing the results of major sporting events from 1950 to 2000; Doc warns him against profiting from time travel, and the elderly Biff, who has overheard them, retrieves the discarded almanac and steals the time machine.
More in Films & Narrative Arcs
Elsewhere in Back to the Future
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced