Back To The Future 2 Writer Asks Studio To Destroy Censored Netflix Cut

Fans of the Back to the Future movie franchise were in a bit of an uproar recently when it was discovered the version of Back to the Future: Part II available to stream on Netflix was edited in a way to censor the content. Now, the screenwriter of the film is clearing the air about this cut of the film.

Truthfully, the change is small. In the original cut of the film, Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) discovered a magazine called Oh La La inside the dustcover of the sports almanac he was searching for. In the version of the movie originally uploaded to Netflix, Marty still thumbs through the pages. However, the cover is not shown. The original cut is now available. According to Bob Gale, who wrote all three films in the franchise, it's not the streaming service's fault.

"The blame is on Universal who somehow furnished Netflix an edited version of the movie," he told The Hollywood Reporter. "I learned about it some ten days ago from an eagle-eyed fan, and had the studio rectify the error. The version now running is the uncensored, unedited, original version."

According to Gale, the version Netflix had was evidently a foreign cut he and director Robert Zemeckis were not aware of. He has not revealed which country this version was edited for but wants to make sure it's never seen again.

"I asked that the studio destroy this version," he said. "FYI, Netflix does not edit films--they only run the versions that are supplied to them. So they're blameless. You can direct your ire at Universal, but I think they will be a lot more careful in the future--and with 'the future.'"

The entire Back to the Future trilogy is available on Netflix right now. The cast of the films also recently reunited for actor Josh Gad's Reunited Apart web series.