recast of Marty McFly, the history behind Back to the Future has a lot of “what ifs.”

Back to the Future was a box office hit and became the highest-grossing movie of 1985. While neither of the sequels was as successful as the first film, they were good enough to make Back to the Future into one of the best movie trilogies of all time. Still, it is difficult to imagine that Back to the Future would have become as big as it did had it used the title suggested by then Head of Universal Studios Sidney Sheinberg.

Back To The Future Was Nearly Called Space Man From Pluto

A Universal Studios Exec Wasn’t Sure About Back To The Future’s Title

During the making of Back to the Future, Sheinberg argued that the film should not be called “Back to the Future,” which was the title of the script, and should have a more traditional and commercial title. The executive believed that Back to the Future was too restrictive of a title and would limit the movie’s reach. Sheinberg feared that Back to the Future would be automatically associated with time travel, whereas something like “Space Man From Pluto” would sound more like a proper sci-fi film and have a broader appeal.

Back to the Future did become associated with the time travel genre, but that just added to the franchise’s legacy.

Sheinberg didn’t want Back to the Future to be labeled as a genre film, even though the movie was indeed about time travel. Funnily enough, not only was Back to the Future widely successful, but it remains one of the best time travel movies of all time. Countless time travel films and TV shows have referenced Back to the Future since 1985, a recent example being Avengers: Endgame. Back to the Future’s title did not limit the film’s reach, most likely because the movie delivered what it promised and more.

Space Man From Pluto Would Have Hurt Back To The Future's Franchise Potential

“Back To The Future” Was Perfect Not Only For The Movie But For The Franchise

Back to the Future is a sci-fi film, but "Space Man From Pluto" would not have done it justice. Apart from Marty McFly changing history and causing his dad to write a science fiction novel called "A Match Made in Space," there is virtually nothing in Back to the Future that would have justified the “Space Man From Pluto” title. Additionally, despite Sheinberg’s concerns about Back to the Future sounding too much like a genre film, it just works much better than Space Man From Pluto would have.

Even if Space Man From Pluto had been the exact same movie as Back to the Future minus the titles, it would likely not have been as successful. Back to the Future is such a clever title given the context of the film, particularly its ending, and perfectly ties into the sequel hook at the end. Back to the Future did become associated with the time travel genre, but that just added to the franchise’s legacy.