Paris Manga by TGS 2026 : Back to the Future Takes Center Stage

The 40th edition of Paris Manga & Sci-Fi Show by TGS, held on October 3–4, 2026 at Paris Nord Villepinte, gave visitors an especially tangible way to revisit Back to the Future. Among the convention’s cinema-themed attractions was a display devoted to the trilogy’s most recognizable objects, led by a stainless-steel DeLorean with its unmistakable gull-wing doors raised. The show itself brought together manga, comics, games, cosplay and screen entertainment across 35,500 square metres, with approximately 300 stands and four stages. Against that crowded pop-culture backdrop, the time machine made an immediate visual statement: here was a piece of movie history that could be appreciated without a screen.

The DeLorean: a film icon visitors could see up close

The vehicle photographed on the convention floor reproduced the familiar silhouette of the DMC DeLorean, including its squared-off front, DMC grille emblem and upward-opening doors. A California-style ‘EKC 95’ plate was visible at the front. These details gave the installation a strong connection to the fictional world of Hill Valley, even though the photographs do not establish the vehicle’s ownership, mechanical specification or whether it was used in a film production. Its doors were open, allowing visitors to examine the cockpit area and the surrounding themed objects. Next to it stood a colourful Mystery Machine van from Scooby-Doo, an amusing collision of two very different strands of screen nostalgia.

A Hill Valley museum in miniature

The adjacent exhibition tables were almost as interesting as the car. Behind protective transparent panels sat reproductions and memorabilia recalling different points in the trilogy’s timeline: a Gray’s Sports Almanac cover, a hoverboard-style prop, Pepsi branding, futuristic graphics, a Mr. Fusion home-energy-reactor design and a compact camera. The almanac is particularly evocative because it drives the plot of Back to the Future Part II: Biff’s knowledge of future sports results changes the present into a nightmare. The hoverboard, meanwhile, captures the sequel’s exuberant vision of 2015. None of the photographed objects should be described as screen-used originals without independent authentication; their value here was in how effectively they reconstructed the films’ visual vocabulary.

From the clock tower to the Wild West

Another display gathered printed ephemera from Hill Valley: a ‘Save the Clock Tower’ flyer, an Enchantment Under the Sea dance reference, a Hill Valley welcome sign and an ‘OUTATIME’ licence plate. Each object points to a specific piece of storytelling. The clock-tower campaign recalls the lightning strike that makes Marty’s return to 1985 possible; the dance evokes the delicate task of ensuring his parents meet and fall in love; the OUTATIME plate is inseparable from Doc’s machine. A separate western-themed diorama featured a steam locomotive numbered 131, a desert landscape, a miniature DeLorean and a wanted poster for Buford Tannen. Together they connected the first film’s 1950s setting with the third film’s journey to 1885.

Costumes, time circuits and the pleasure of tiny details

The stand also displayed figures dressed to suggest the eccentric scientist Christopher Lloyd made famous and the red-jacketed teenage traveller portrayed by Michael J. Fox. Nearby, a time-circuit-style display showed multiple dates, while a video monitor played a scene featuring Doc Brown, Marty McFly and Lorraine Baines. These combinations of moving images and physical props created a useful bridge between the fictional objects and their appearances on screen. Even the smallest details mattered: a donation tin styled around the clock tower, a remote-control unit and a small model car gave attentive fans more to discover after their first look at the DeLorean.

Christopher Lloyd and a live meeting of generations

The exhibition’s relevance was heightened by the presence of Christopher Lloyd at the convention. Photographs from a live Q&A show him onstage alongside Emilie de Ravin and Tyler Hoechlin, with an interviewer and a staff moderator. The shared appearance, reported as taking place on Saturday, October 3, brought together performers associated with very different chapters of television and cinema. Christopher Lloyd remains closely linked to Dr. Emmett Brown, while Emilie de Ravin is known for Lost and Once Upon a Time, and Tyler Hoechlin for Teen Wolf and Superman & Lois. Rather than inventing quotations or backstage anecdotes, the photographs offer a straightforward but memorable image: the actor behind Doc Brown meeting fans in the same convention where his fictional invention was being celebrated.

Why Back to the Future still travels so well

Released in 1985, the original film was directed by Robert Zemeckis and written by Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale. It stars Michael J. Fox as Marty McFly and Christopher Lloyd as Doc Brown, whose modified DeLorean sends Marty from 1985 to 1955. The sequels followed in 1989 and 1990, first exploring an imagined 2015 and an altered 1985, then travelling to the American West of 1885. The films’ popularity owes much to their unusually precise network of recurring props and locations: a photograph, a clock, a newspaper, a licence plate or a book can change the entire timeline. That is precisely why a display of recognisable artefacts works so well at a fan convention. The objects are not merely decorations; they are shorthand for decisions, jokes and consequences that viewers remember decades later.

The unlikely journey from rejected screenplay to timeless franchise

The trilogy’s behind-the-scenes history contains a fitting twist. Bob Gale developed the premise after looking through his father’s school yearbook and wondering whether they would have been friends as teenagers. The project faced repeated rejection before finding a home at Universal. Michael J. Fox was the filmmakers’ preferred Marty, but scheduling difficulties initially led to Eric Stoltz being cast. After filming had begun, the production changed direction and reshot material with Michael J. Fox. The DeLorean itself was also not the first concept for the time machine: earlier drafts imagined a stationary device. Its eventual use gave the story an object whose shape and gull-wing doors were instantly cinematic. These production choices help explain why a convention display built around the car can still attract attention more than forty years after the original release.

A celebration built on memories, not just merchandise

What distinguished the photographed installation was its breadth. It did not rely exclusively on a full-sized vehicle or on a single celebrity appearance. Instead, it assembled different layers of the trilogy: the 1955 clock tower, the 1985 DeLorean, the 2015 hoverboard and sports almanac, and the 1885 locomotive. Fans could move from one narrative period to another simply by looking across a table. For younger visitors, these objects offered an introduction to a science-fiction classic; for longtime admirers, they rewarded close observation and invited conversations about favourite scenes. The photographs also reveal the informal charm of a convention display: reflective glass, hand-arranged memorabilia and visitors leaning in for a closer look rather than a sealed, museum-like presentation.

Event recap: Paris Manga & Sci-Fi Show by TGS 2026

Where: Paris Nord Villepinte, Hall 7, 82 Avenue des Nations, 93420 Villepinte, France.
When: Saturday, October 3 and Sunday, October 4, 2026.
What: A pop-culture convention featuring manga, comics, gaming, cosplay, cinema and television, including a Back to the Future themed display with a DeLorean, replica memorabilia and a western-style diorama. Guest appearance: Christopher Lloyd joined Emilie de Ravin and Tyler Hoechlin for a live Q&A photographed during the event. Opening hours: Saturday 9:30 a.m.–7:00 p.m.; Sunday 9:30 a.m.–6:00 p.m.

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Photos : Boris Colletier / Mulderville