While Marty McFly’s older brother doesn’t appear in Back to the Future Part II, he was intended to have a sad role in the sequel. It is impressive that the Back to the Future franchise timeline makes as much sense as it does, but this achievement didn’t come easily. Each of the three movies in the trilogy cut numerous scenes both to streamline their complicated storylines and to ensure that their pacing never lagged too much.
As a result, some minor characters ended up having their roles shortened and, in some cases, elided entirely. Many of Back to the Future’s deleted scenes would have slowed down the movie’s story, but this became a bigger issue with the byzantine plotting of Back to the Future Part II. Back to the Future Part II sees Marty travel to the future of 2015, only for Biff to travel back to 1955 and create a dystopian alternative version of the 2015 future. This, in turn, leads Marty to once again travel back to 1955 to set things right.
Marc McClure’s Dave McFly Only Appears In Back To The Future Part II In A Deleted Scene
Dave McFly’s Back To The Future Part II Is A Mystery In The Sequel
It is easy to forget that actor Marc McClure’s character Dave McFly, Marty’s older brother, even exists. He plays a minor role in Back to the Future, where he can be seen bonding with his father, George. Seen at home in the original version of 1985, his smart business attire suggests that he is working a white-collar job and likely doing well for himself. This is a far cry from how Dave was depicted in a deleted scene from Back to the Future Part II.
In Back to the Future Part II’s cut scene, Dave becomes a desтιтute alcoholic after Biff Tannen forces Lorraine to marry him. Fortunately, this grim fate only befalls him in the dystopian timeline of 2015. The Back to the Future Part II tie-in novelization by author Craig Shaw Gardner reinstates this plot, but it is easy to see why it was cut. Like Back to the Future’s deleted scene of Marty worrying about meeting his mother Lorraine, the scene was too dark to fit the finished film’s tone.
What Happens To Dave McFly In Back To The Future Part II’s Dystopian Timeline?
Dave McFly’s Dark 1985 Fate Is Seen In The Movie’s Novelization
From what viewers see in the deleted scene, Dave became an alcoholic and a gambling addict in 2015 due to Biff Tannen marrying his mother. Biff’s brutal mistreatment of Lorraine and her children had a negative impact on Dave’s life, turning the prosperous character from the original movie into a hopeless figure. This is reversed when Marty manages to stop Biff from obtaining the almanac that makes him rich by returning to 1955.
The dystopian future scenes in Back to the Future Part II are already some of the darkest in the entire trilogy.
The fate of Marty’s sister Linda isn’t explored in this deleted scene, but Biff’s abuse of Lorraine, Marty, and Dave doesn’t bode well for her. In the finished film, the dystopian future scenes in Back to the Future Part II are already some of the darkest in the entire trilogy. As such, it was wise to cut out Marty’s sad encounter with his brother. Biff’s villainy and the stakes of Marty’s mission were already established earlier in Back to the Future Part II, making the grim scene redundant.
