'Back to the Future Part II' Made a Wild Choice in Its Portrayal of Michael Jackson

Robert Zemeckis' Back to the Future trilogy is pure 1980s nostalgia. The first film came out in 1985 during the height of Michael J. Fox's fame as Alex P. Keaton on the very popular TV series Family Ties. It was by far the biggest box office draw of the year and led to two sequels filmed at the same time: 1989's Back to the Future Part II and 1990's Back to the Future Part III. If you're of a certain age, you can't watch those movies and not be transported back to your childhood. From the look of the DeLorean, Marty McFly's truck, as well as the Pepsi tie-ins, it's truly nostalgia overload. In Back to the Future Part II, it's Marty himself who gets to experience the nostalgia. He might be thirty years in the future this time, but when he walks into the Cafe 80s, it's almost like he's back home. There, he encounters a twisted version of Michael Jackson on TV. While that might not have been the real King of Pop, the story of who it really was is just as fascinating.

The 'Back to the Future' Franchise Has Many Great Musician Cameos

Just as much as the Back to the Future movies are a fun adventure with Marty McFly and Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd), they're also a love letter to music. Huey Lewis is all over that first film, not just with instant classic songs such as "The Power of Love" and "Back in Time" but also with a cameo as the head of the talent contest who ironically shouts into the megaphone that Marty is too loud.

Huey Lewis isn't the only musician cameo in the trilogy. Although Eddie Van Halen isn't seen on screen, that's his guitar playing on the Walkman when Marty appears as Darth Vader to get the attention of his father, George McFly (Crispin Clover). In Back to the Future Part II and III, Flea, the bassist for the Red Hot Chili Peppers, plays Needles, a guy who challenges Marty to a drag race, and who in an alternate 2015, becomes Marty's boss. Rounding out the musical cameos is the rock band ZZ Top, who play the long-bearded band seen performing at the festival in 1885 in Back to the Future Part III.

In 'Back to the Future Part II', Marty McFly Sees Michael Jackson

The most famous of all the musician cameos in Back to the Future belongs to Michael Jackson in Back to the Future Part II, even if it wasn't really him. MJ appears in a scene that's a callback to the first film where Marty, having just arrived in 1955, walks into a cafe. He's confounded by how different everything is and is floored when he runs into the cowardly teenage version of his dad.

In Back to the Future Part II, having just arrived in 2015, Marty walks into the same cafe, but it's very different. It's now called Cafe 80s, with Michael Jackson's "Beat It" blaring when Marty opens the door. Inside, it's full retro from a future point of view, with moving TVs showing a Max Headroom-like version of President Ronald Reagan (the real Reagan was asked to play the mayor of Hill Valley in the third film but declined). We also see a TV with Michael Jackson on it informing a patron about the menu. "Your choice of beans, chicken, b-b-b-beef, or pork." It looks like him in that Max Headroom kind of way, and it sounds just like MJ, but it's not him.

Professional Impersonator E'Casanova Evans Played Michael Jackson

Michael Jackson was played in Back to the Future Part II by an impersonator named E'Casanova Evans. Just as intriguing as his few seconds of cameo as the King of Pop in such a huge movie is the fact that Evans has had a several-decades-long career as a Michael Jackson impersonator. Evans told VH1 during a special on him in the 1990s that people began telling him he looked like Jackson back in junior high. This was something Evans liked to hear, because he was such a big fan. He tried to be just like MJ, entering look-alike contests and winning first prize every time. That wasn't enough, so he learned to dance and sing just like Michael too. E'Casanova said that MJ had seen the impersonation and that he called it eerie, as if he was looking in the mirror. The documentary showed that Evans looked so much like Jackson that security had to accompany him because of the fans who would follow him, thinking he was the King of Pop.

E'Casanova Evans is not just a Michael Jackson look-alike; he also did concerts as the King of Pop as well. Even though Michael died in 2009, Evans continued on with his tribute to his favorite artist. In 2017, E'Casanova was seen on a local news channel in Las Vegas to promote a concert in the city. Unfortunately, he's never mentioned if he prefers beans, chicken, b-b-b-beef, or pork.

Back to the Future Part II is available to rent on Prime Video in the U.S.

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