Great Scott, it’s been over 40 years since Back to the Future first raced into theaters with the power of 1.21 gigawatts. If that fact isn’t mind-blowing enough, the news that Christopher Lloyd is celebrating his 88th birthday definitely should be. After all, I could never really tell how old he was when he first appeared as Doc Brown in the hit '80s franchise. While filming Back to the Future was exhausting for many cast members, Lloyd has always held the sci-fi franchise close to his heart, and he even referenced the beloved film in his birthday posts, but I almost missed it.
The newly minted 88-year-old took to his X account, appropriately named @DocBrownLloyd, to let the world know it’s his birthday. At first glance, the tweet sounds like any ordinary birthday post, but Back to the Future superfans are sure to notice the references. Take a look:
Today I turn 88…I’ve seen some serious shit. The most serious of it all is love. I love my family, my friends, and my wonderful fans. The power of love remains.October 22, 2026
Along with the more obvious reference to saying he's "seen some serious shit" (but more on that later), Lloyd's decision to end his tweet with “the power of love remains” feels like it's a nod to the iconic Huey Lewis and the News song that’s featured in Back to the Future, too. And I almost missed it!
The song, which was written for the first film and became the band’s first number-one hit, is first heard as Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) skateboards to school. Later, Marty and his friends perform a hard-rock version of the song for the Battle of the Bands audition that is interrupted by one of the judges, who just so happens to be played by Huey Lewis himself. The song gets one more round to shine towards the end when Marty finally returns to his neighborhood.
“The Power of Love” is so synonymous with Back to the Future that it’s featured in the subsequent films and the Broadway musical, which Lloyd is also a fan of. In the sequel, Marty attempts to play the song on his guitar with little success due to his hand injury from 1985. The song’s final appearance comes in the third movie when Marty is challenged to a car race by Needles (Flea) and his friends.
As iconic as this Back to the Future easter egg is, it’s not the only one Lloyd dropped to celebrate his birthday. The Emmy Award-winning actor kept his love for the sci-fi franchise going, sharing the following video with his 1.5 million Instagram followers:
The Taxi actor addresses the camera, saying, “I told you, when this baby hits 88, you’re going to see some serious shit.” He also referenced that in his tweet, too. In case it’s been a while since you’ve seen the classic film, this is almost a direct quote of what Doc tells Marty when they’re in the parking lot of the first film, testing out Doc’s time travel machine installed on the DeLorean.
Despite turning 88, Lloyd doesn’t look his age, nor does he act it. The actor, who regularly appears at fan conventions, has continued to work in Hollywood. He was most recently seen in the action thriller Nobody 2, which those with a Netflix subscription can now stream. And he's slated to appear in the upcoming horror film The Movers, which will hopefully wind up on the 2027 movie schedule.
Unfortunately, the Back to the Future franchise is not streaming anywhere for free, but is available to purchase on Apple TV and Prime Video. It definitely feels like the appropriate way to celebrate Lloyd’s birthday.
