Gibson launches search for ‘Back to the Future’ guitar
“No one has seen that guitar since 1985, and we need to find it,” said Harry Waters Jr., whose character Marvin Berry owned it in the film.
WASHINGTON — Have you seen this guitar?
Gibson, the guitar-making company, is asking for the public’s help in finding an iconic piece of movie memorabilia from the 1985 film “Back to the Future” after it went missing following the movie’s release 40 years ago.
The guitar in question is the iconic Cherry Red Gibson ES-345 played by Marty McFly during one of the most well-known scenes from the film.
In the scene, McFly, played by Michael J. Fox, jams to the Chuck Berry hit “Johnny B. Goode” during the school dance while attempting to make sure his parents get together before he is erased from the timeline.
“I guess you guys aren’t ready for that yet,” he quips to the dancers after shredding a guitar solo on stage.
In 1989, as producers began filming the sequel, “Back to the Future 2,” they began looking for the guitar so it could be used again. But according to Gibson officials, it was “nowhere to be found.”
The company brought back the stars of the film, including Fox, Lea Thompson and Christopher Lloyd, to film a plea for the instrument’s return.
“No one has seen that guitar since 1985, and we need to find it,” said Harry Waters Jr., whose character Marvin Berry owned it in the film.
“It’s somewhere, lost in the space-time continuum. Or it’s in some Teamster’s garage,” Fox added in the video.
The hunt is in honor of an upcoming documentary about the missing guitar, titled “Lost to the Future.”
The documentary promises to journey through long-forgotten film prop warehouses, vintage guitar shops, auction houses and shadowy back alleys.
Gibson has put up a website, www.LostToTheFuture.com, and a phone number for anybody with information about the missing piece of cinema history to call or text.
The film’s stars are asking for tips to be sent to 1-855-345-1955 or reported on the website.
The search is launching one month before the movie’s 40th anniversary. It was originally released in theaters on July 3, 1985. And despite its age, one of the most iconic time travel movies in history won’t be coming to the future. As recently as 2024, director and co-creator of the film Robert Zemeckis confirmed that another sequel or a remake isn’t going to happen.
“We have to say, ‘There are different things that might work,'” Zemeckis told the Happy Sad Confused podcast. “But to remake the movie or to suggest that there’s a Back to the Future 4, it just isn’t in the cards.”