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The guitar took center stage during the iconic ‘Enchantment Under the Sea’ school dance scene, which quickly became a pop culture classic.
Michael J. Fox in Back to the Future with the now-missing guitar. Picture: Supplied
Due to leading actors hogging all the attention, people often overlook everything in the background, including props in a film.
Yet, Gibson, makers of musical instruments, are searching for the Cherry Red Gibson ES-345 guitar that was part of the Back to the Future movie.
Gibson has enlisted some of the film’s cast to assist with the search.
“We need your help,” lead-actor Michael J Fox says in a video where he and his cast mates including Christopher Lloyd (Doc Brown) and Leah Thompson (Lorraine Baines McFly) ask for the public’s help to find the iconic instrument.
Marty McFly’s iconic Cherry Red Gibson ES-345 from Back to the Future has been missing since 1985. Now, the filmmakers are searching for its whereabouts.
Where we’re going, we don’t need roads—just clues. Know anything about the missing ES-345? Click👉 https://t.co/fvs5WYxly2 pic.twitter.com/BfAHWOLbhk— Gibson (@gibsonguitar) June 3, 2025
During the making of the 1989 sequel to the film, the filmmakers searched for the guitar, but it was nowhere to be found.
Now, music fans worldwide have the chance to help Gibson find what’s considered the most iconic guitar in cinema history.
Back To The Future was released on 3 July 1985. It won an Academy Award and received three additional nominations, launching a franchise that would go on to earn almost $1 billion globally.
The search for the guitar coincides with the film’s 40th anniversary, and the makers of the guitar are working on a documentary titled “Lost To The Future“.
The doccie will transport viewers back to 1985, celebrating the music, culture, and defining moments of the era through a rich collection of archival photos, stories, film clips, and iconic songs.
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The iconic scene
In the iconic film, the guitar got time to shine in the ‘Enchantment Under the Sea’ school dance scene, which instantly became a pop culture moment.
Leading man Fox said he was happy with the scene because it allowed him to pay homage to his favourite guitarists.
“I’m really happy with the scene because it was an expression of my love for the guitar and all the great players,” he said.
He mentions the likes of Jimi Hendrix playing it behind the head, Pete Townshend doing a windmill, and the Eddie (Van Halen) hammer thing.
“I didn’t realise the influence the scene had on people, John Mayer said, ‘I play guitar because of you,’ and Chris Martin said the same thing, and I am glad they took it further than I did; they went to the trouble of being really good players. I just love the guitar, and I love the movie.”
“When we talked about the ‘Enchantment Under The Sea’ scene in Back to the Future, I sat down with the cinematographer and choreographer and said I want to riff through all of my favourite guitarists,” shared Fox.
“It was so cool that they were open to that, and we laid it all out there.”
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