With word of a new Broadway adaptation happening for Back to the Future (and continued rumors of a reboot), it's time for Amblin and Universal Pictures to formulate a new plan for continuing the beloved movie franchise. While the original trilogy is a perfectly contained story, it's odd that we still have yet to see any effort to relaunch the franchise with a new angle or premise, building off the original characters and story.

The brand has been exploited in many other ways over the years, with a cartoon spinoff that ran for two seasons, a ride at Universal Studios, and a number of ad campaigns that brought characters and set pieces back. Merchandising has also expanded over the years, including toys, apparel, prop replicas, and more.

Still, it feels as if a fairly obvious well of time travel story mechanics could be mined to dream up another scenario involving an ensemble cast struggling to keep the time-space continuum from collapsing. While a new series of films shouldn't necessarily lean on the returning cast (surely there's room for a cameo or two that could link us to the events of the original movies), an injection of fresh casting amidst a contemporary time travel script is surely worth attempting.

With the success of other 1980s brands returning, like Top Gun, Ghostbusters, and Karate Kid, it seems a little short-sighted if Back to the Future can't figure out a way to once again appeal to mass audiences.

Here's a look at a few angles that could be tapped for new story potential.

A New Generation of the McFly & Brown Families

Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd
Universal Pictures

Considering we're nearly 40 years beyond the original timeline of the Back to the Future trilogy, we have the potential for multiple generations of new McFly family members who could stumble into one of Doc Brown's time travel conundrums.

Doc Brown himself could also be more of the focus as his storyline became a central element of the trilogy, spawning his own family in the end. With the right casting, decedents of Doc Brown and Marty McFly could be a fun way to move the story forward while acknowledging the past.

A New and Improved Biff

Thomas F. Wilson & Crispin Glover
Universal Studios

Biff Tannen's character transformation in the original film is also something worth honing in on. Thomas Wilson's performance may be one of the most under-appreciated aspects of the franchise. The fact that he was able to go between a very believable bully and villain to the jolliest and harmless simpleton is not only hilarious but profound on a certain level. It represents a transformation that gives hope to anyone dealing with challenging people with a chip on their shoulder or generally mean-spirited.

Time Travel as a means to examine character arcs and transformations may be one of Back to the Future's greatest charms and resources that could have more fruit to bear. Should new installments move forward, this could be a smart way to plot out new characters and scenarios that drive a narrative in funny and ironic ways.

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Time Traveling to the Fringe

Back To The Future The Ride
Universal Studios

Other than the Universal Studios ride and some cartoon episodes, the Back to the Future movies were rather conservative with the scope of their time travel plot devices. While we got to experience Hill Valley between the 1880s and 2000s, there wasn't much in the way of extremes that make themselves readily available to a plot involving time travel. An absurd realm of possibilities is certainly available to the franchise should writers decide to crank up the volume to an explosive degree.

Bill and Ted certainly did not shy away from the absurd realm that became their brand's staple, allowing time travel to become a springboard for other crazy concepts like the afterlife, heaven, hell, and sentient robots. Given the tone of the original trilogy, it would likely be a mistake to suddenly bring dinosaurs, Jesus, and Morlocks into the fold. However, there could be room for something a little more extreme to inject fresh ingredients into the franchise for a new generation of moviegoers.

Tapping Into Nostalgia

Back to the Future
Universal Pictures

Nostalgia is an ever-evolving flavor, and Back to the Future was able to tap into that well of warm and fuzzy memories on a level that is truly unmatched. While a new series of films certainly presents a very challenging task for Universal and Amblin, the path forward is likely a mix of brilliant casting and clever storytelling amidst universal themes and a great sense of humor to come even close to capturing the lightning in a bottle that is the Back to the Future trilogy.

If the studio can assemble the right ingredients to once again tap into the Back to the Future vibe, it will bridge multiple generations who can still rally behind "the power of love." Perhaps even Crispin Glover may be open to resolving his feelings on the franchise, who had a falling out with producers over pay discrepancies and the illegal use of his image in Back to the Future Part II. If Biff can transform into a lovable auto detailer, maybe Glover can find it in his heart to forgive.