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Great Scott! Nike hints at ‘Marty McFly’ self-lacing shoe release [update]

marty-mcfly
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Update: The shoes are real, and they are on sale now. Read our full update here.

Nike has released an slightly enigmatic video that could really only mean one thing: the company plans to release a real-life version of the self-lacing shoe from Back To The Future II, known among kick aficionados as the “Marty McFly” shoe.

Along with the video, which is entitled “Marty McFly’s closet,” Nike gave some lucky sneakerheads an invitation to a secret release in Los Angeles for a new product. The press kit that came with the release declared, “It’s about time,” a surefire reference to the now-classic time-travling flick.

Not only that, but the swank press swag also included an iPod Shuffle, with a message from Dr. Emmett Brown, which said: “Welcome to Los Angeles. If my calculations are correct, over the next 24 hours you are about to see some SERIOUS SH*T!”

Nike-Marty-McFly-2
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Also included in the press kit were a variety of 1980s candy, like Bubble Tape and Nerds, as well as a bottle of Throwback Pepsi, which sports the Pepsi logo from that decade.

The “Marty McFly” shoe is officially called the Nike Air Mags. And, if the video is any indication of what Nike (presumably) plans to release, the futuristic kicks will look and function essentially as they do in Back To The Future II.

Adding further support to the theory that pairs of Air Mags will soon be stomping the streets is a Nike patent filing, uncovered by Nice Kicks last August, which details the company’s self-lacing system.

marty-mcfly patent
Image used with permission by copyright holder

According to the patent, the shoes will also come with their own charging system, which will power both the lacing mechanism, as well as lights that appear on the side of the shoe.

Needless to say, the release of the Marty McFly shoes would bring forth the culmination of snearkerdom — it really doesn’t get any better than this. Unless, of course, Nike also manages to release a hoverboard to go along with the shoes, then the future really will have arrived.

Watch the video below:

Andrew Couts
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Features Editor for Digital Trends, Andrew Couts covers a wide swath of consumer technology topics, with particular focus on…
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