Marty McFly steals the name Clint Eastwood when he travels back to 1885 in Back to the Future Part III, but the trilogy finale has another clever nod to the cowboy movie legend. After the first sequel, Back to the Future Part II, delivered a fun but forgettable adventure, Back to the Future Part III ended the trilogy on a strong note. Marty and Doc Brown head to the late 19th century to correct a historical wrong, and the third film generally streamlined the story after the convoluted middle installment.

One of the film’s running gags is that Marty ᴀssumes the name Clint Eastwood in order to blend in with the locals, and it even changes the name of Clayton Ravine to Eastwood Ravine in Hilly Valley’s future. By the ending of Back to the Future Part III, Marty is back in his own time, and he is able to straighten out the timeline. Though the name Clint Eastwood is an Easter egg all its own, Back to the Future Part III still makes another subtle nod towards the actor/director by digging deep into his lengthy filmography.

Back To The Future’s Revenge Of The Creature Poster Nods To Clint Eastwood’s First Movie

Eastwood First Appeared In The Universal Monsters Sequel

Early in Back to the Future Part III, Marty and Doc are at a drive-in theater in 1955 where they must send the former back in time to prevent Doc from being murdered in 1885. While trying out a gaudy cowboy outfit in an attempt to blend in with the past, Marty makes a quip that Clint Eastwood never wore such ridiculous duds. In the background there is a poster for the 1955 Creature from the Black Lagoon sequel, Revenge of the Creature, which happens to be Clint Eastwood’s very first film.

Unlike a lot of actors who rocketed to stardom quickly, Eastwood spent several years paying his dues in uncredited roles and walk-on parts. In Revenge of the Creature, Eastwood plays a lab technician who has a humorous scene regarding lost mice. The future western legend wasn’t given much to do, but his single line showed off a sample of the chemistry that he would make a career out of in the near future. BTTF 3 makes a subtle joke by having the poster in the background, with 1955 Doc being ignorant of who Eastwood is at that point.

Eastwood’s appearance in Revenge of the Creature is a mere footnote in the Oscar-winner’s career, but it shows just how much Hollywood has changed. It seems absurd that Eastwood would have such humble beginnings, but that’s how the studio system operated in 1955. It would actually take nearly a decade for Eastwood to reach stardom, with his turn in A Fistful of Dollars making him the household name that he still is today. Interestingly, Eastwood’s career has spanned three of the four main points in the Back to the Future timeline (1955, 1985, and 2015).

The Same Back To The Future Scene References Another Early Eastwood Role

Clint Eastwood Had A Busy First Year In Hollywood

During the same scene in Back to the Future Part III in which the poster for Revenge of the Creature is shown, the poster for another early Clint Eastwood movie is also teased. Hanging near the bathrooms right next to the aforementioned movie poster, a poster for the science fiction horror film Tarantula can also be seen. The 1955 giant spider movie is often regarded as a ’50s B-movie classic, but it also features one of Clint Eastwood’s other early uncredited roles. In the film, Eastwood appears as an unnamed Jet Squadron leader who flies over the desert.

Like Revenge of the Creature, Eastwood isn’t given much to do in Tarantula, though he fills the role of a rugged fighter pilot quite convincingly. Eastwood appeared in four films throughout 1955, all of which were released by Universal. Only one of his four 1955 films actually credited the young actor, and he played the role of Jonesy in the film Francis in the Navy, which was the sixth installment of the popular Francis the Talking Mule series. Eastwood would continue in uncredited roles throughout 1956 and 1957, before working his way into named parts.

Clint Eastwood’s 1955 filmography includes:

Though the Easter egg regarding Eastwood’s early career is interesting, it’s also likely not very historically accurate. While it’s true that Universal released Revenge of the Creature and Tarantula in the same year, they were released months apart and not on the same double bill. Revenge of the Creature was released alongside Cult of the Cobra, while Tarantula was often paired with Running Wild. Considering how strict distribution was then and now, it’s unlikely that the drive-in theater in Back to the Future Part III would have screened the two films at the same time.