The ending of Back to the Future Part III shows Dr. Emmett Brown (Christopher Lloyd) flying a time-travelling train and surprising a mournful Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox), who was feeling sad about possibly never seeing Doc again. 

Back to the Future Part III, set in 1885, is a sci-fi western adventure movie that follows Marty in the Wild West, where he goes to help Doc return to the present. This 1885 is one of Back to the Future‘s many alternate timelines that the characters inadvertently create during their chaotic journey spanning a trilogy of movies.

Back to the Future Part II ends with the revelation that Doc has been sent to 1885, setting up Marty’s journey in the sequel. This is why the two films’ release dates were close, as they were filmed together, which would explain the sense of continuity. However, by the end of Back to the Future Part III, their adventures seem to be permanently over.

Marty is sad he’ll never see Doc again, but a surprise awaits him and the viewers. Back to the Future Part III breaks the trilogy curse by being a fantastic third and final movie.

What Happens to Doc in the Ending

He recreates time-travel in 1885

Doc and Marty figure out a way for the local train to push their time machine to help them go back to 1985 in the third act of Back to the Future Part III. However, Doc realizes he wants to live out the rest of his days with Clara Clayton (Mary Steenburgen), the love of his life, in 1885, and bids adieu to Marty, giving him instructions to destroy the time machine.

After being sent back to 1985, Marty is sad he won’t see the Doc again, but the Doc flies in on a time-travelling train, in one of the most iconic scenes in the Back to the Future trilogy.

Doc most likely used the technology from the car that sent him to 1885 originally. Since he had already figured out a way to make trains run at the required speed of 88 mph, that must have allowed him to travel through time by train. The scene also introduces viewers to his two kids, Jules and Verne, named after both Carla and his favorite author, Jules Verne.

He had already travelled to various historical places with his family, and made a stop in 1985 to reassure Marty that they would see more of each other.

Marty and his girlfriend Jennifer Parker (Elisabeth Shue) were walking down the same tracks that the 1885 train had pushed Marty on, lamenting how, without a time machine, he could never see Doc again.

So, Doc’s arrival is a surprise for both him and the audience. They have a brief interaction during which Doc says he’s no longer scared about the negative consequences of time travel, as bad people cause them, and the technology itself is useful. Marty is happy to see him and his family, and he and Jennifer wave them goodbye as they leave for another adventure.

Why Doc Couldn’t Return to 1985 With Marty

Doc decides to stay with Clara

The original plan that Marty and Doc made involved pushing their time-travelling DeLorean at 88 mph with a train, so it takes them back to 1985.

For this, they needed to stop the local train and use the special logs created by Doc, which give the train the excess energy needed to hit such an absurdly high speed for its time. While they manage that in time, Doc has to stay behind in the train’s cabin to put the logs in the fire while Marty sits in the car and notifies Doc about the speed and the time remaining.

Doc had previously suggested staying back with Clara after falling in love with her, and only changed his mind after Marty convinced him he belonged in 1985.

Just when Doc attempts to move from the train’s cabin to the DeLorean, after dropping the last log in the fire, Clara shows up behind the train to try and catch up with Doc.

Her life is endangered by the speed of the train, which threatens to throw her off. Fortunately, Marty still has his hoverboard from 2015, and he sends it back to Doc, who uses it to balance himself and hold Clara. However, these maneuvers take too much time, and the DeLorean can’t fit three people, so Doc has to stay behind in 1885 while Marty goes to 1985.

Why Marty Couldn’t Go Back in Time Again

The time machine was destroyed

Doc Brown, who has one of the best surprise cameos in movie history in A Million Ways To Die in the West, reprising his 1885 persona, was convinced in Back to the Future Part III that the time machine must be destroyed.

All three Back to the Future movies explore the negative effects of messing with the timeline, and Back to the Future Part II in particular explores how such technology may be misused by selfish miscreants, leading to cosmic catastrophes.

So, when Marty leaves 1885 alone, one of the things Doc tells him is that he must destroy the DeLorean so no one can misuse his invention ever again. Irrespective of Marty’s intentions, though, since the car appears on a functioning train track in 1985 and has no fuel due to the lack of gasoline in 1885, Marty has no option but to let it be destroyed by a running train.

He narrowly escapes death and watches in horror as Doc’s invention is smashed into smithereens, and the realization dawns on him that time travel is officially impossible again.

Marty is forced to hurriedly make his peace with never seeing Doc again.

While it isn’t confirmed, one can assume, based on Marty’s body language, that he would have preferred this to happen later and differently. He might even have been planning to go back in time to get Doc and Clara.

However, he does seem somewhat happy that Doc found his life partner and there’s a chance he was simply sad that he didn’t get to properly say goodbye to Doc or the DeLorean. Both farewells are quite rushed, and Marty is forced to hurriedly make his peace with never seeing Doc again and never going back in time again.

Why Doc No Longer Wants To Destroy The Time Machine

He has an important realization about the future

Since Doc builds a time-travelling train, that implies that he had a change of heart and reassessed his position on time travel. Of course, Clara must have had an effect on him.

When he reveals his true identity as being from the future, Clara initially dismisses him as a cheat, but then realizes he wasn’t lying. Not only does that change Doc’s future, but it changes Clara’s too. History says Clara was supposed to die, and Doc is the one who saved her, so changing the past is how he met the love of his life.

The positive effects of changing the past must have convinced him it isn’t all bad. Even before Back to the Future Part III started, Doc had been sure he wouldn’t return to 1985, as he had instructed in his letter to Marty that he shouldn’t come looking for him. But, after his disagreement, he changed his mind, only to again decide otherwise.

Somewhere down the line, he must have realized we make our own destinies, which he says in his final interaction with Marty after flying the train to 1985, and that’s why he’s not opposed to time travel anymore.

Doc must have rediscovered his love for time travel that originally motivated him to build the machine. Both Clara and Doc are huge fans of Jules Verne and of scientific exploration, so it’s clear to see how Clara must have helped him understand why time travel isn’t inherently bad.

Moreover, most of the impacts made on the future during the course of Back to the Future Part III, like Marty saving Doc’s life, and the town bully Buford being humbled, must also have convinced him that it’s not a bad idea to mess with the timeline at times.

How Doc’s Time-Travelling Train Works

He had already figured out the means during the movie

Throughout the Back to the Future trilogy, we see glimpses of Dr. Emmett Brown’s genius. While his introduction is practically with the invention of time travel, the movies make sure to give us moments of everyday brilliance from him to depict how smart he is.

So, it makes sense that even with the limited means he had in 1885, he was able to figure out a way to make time travel work. Firstly, he still had his car from Back to the Future Part II that brought him to 1885, and secondly, he found a way to make a train travel at 88 mph.

These two details, both of which are mentioned in Back to the Future Part III, can explain how Doc might have traveled to somewhere in the future.

Once there, it wouldn’t be difficult for him to fit the train with flying gear, and also possibly replace the dangerously explosive logs with organic fuel, like he did with the DeLorean in Back to the Future Part II. The flux capacitor, which allows one to travel in time, could have simply been borrowed from the DeLorean he already had, and once that’s there, the rest is intuitive for a brilliant scientist like him.

Why Back To The Future Part IV Would Be a Bad Idea

All the character arcs found a satisfying conclusion

One of the biggest changes at the end of Back to the Future Part III is that Marty McFly no longer responds to being called “Chicken“. Throughout the film, he shows a concern for his image and gets himself into dangerous situations if someone calls him a coward. However, the last time it happens in the trilogy, he has no trouble leaving without dignifying the taunt with a response.

All his near-death experiences have helped him grow as a person and overcome one of his worst character flaws, as he gains confidence in his musical talents as well.

Similarly, Dr. Emmett Brown overcomes one of his major character flaws – his lack of faith in people. The first two Back to the Future movies tested his ability to believe in good because he came up close and personal with criminals, bullies, and corrupt people. He was even labeled a lunatic in a version of the future.

However, not only does he allow himself to trust people, but he also opens himself up to Clara. He also overcomes his fear of time travel, and all the positive changes the two characters undergo give us a perfect ending to the trilogy.

Robert Zemeckis, the director of the three Back to the Future movies, who has been adamant about the franchise being over cinematically, has recently expressed interest in turning the award-winning Broadway musical based on the first movie into a feature film.

Extending the franchise more would feel forced as both Doc and Marty have seemingly found stable lives again, and while they’re still friends, it makes sense for them to no longer hang out as much.

Their character arcs have brought them to a place of security where they both have things to look forward to in life beyond their adventures together. Back to the Future 4 would have been a terrible idea after this, because it’s impossible for these movies to work without their lives getting entangled, and it’s healthy that the characters move on with their lives naturally.

What Happens to Doc and Marty Next

The comics continue their story

Bob Gale, the writer of all three movies in the Back to the Future trilogy, despite initially saying that Marty and Doc’s story was over, later wrote comic books that continued their adventures. The comics even gave us some more backstory, including the moment when Marty and Doc first meet. Apart from answering some of the fans’ most burning questions about what happens after Back to the Future Part III, the comics canonically give us some more classic, hilarious shenanigans featuring Doc and Marty.

The Back to the Future Animated Series, [which] began in 1991, just a year after Back to the Future Part III came out.

Before the comics, though, there were more instances of continuation. The most notable among these is the Back to the Future Animated Series, which began in 1991, just a year after Back to the Future Part III came out. It only ran for 2 seasons, and despite having a few memorable scenes, it isn’t considered canon either.

The comics, however, are genuine continuations of the story, and for anyone interested in more Back to the Future, they’re perfect.

The Real Meaning of Back to the Future Part III’s Ending

Your future is whatever you make it

Doc Brown gives an impassioned speech about destiny and the future in the final scene of Back to the Future Part III. He explains that no one’s future is set in stone, and we make our own destiny.

This is a clear deviation from his philosophy throughout the trilogy, which he spends convinced that the future is predetermined and time travel messes with it. While he delivers the lines to the characters in the movie, it is clear that Doc’s message is meant for the viewers as well.

The point of the trilogy is to depict how we shape our futures by making decisions. The most recent example is that Marty chooses to walk away after he’s taunted, which prevents his accident and possibly gives him a lucrative career as a rock star in the future. In Back to the Future, Marty’s father stands up to his bully, changing their dynamic forever.

Doc overcomes his fear of changing the timeline and saves his life as well. The main message of the franchise is that if we make the correct decisions, we can create a good future for ourselves.