It's the mystery of the missing guitar — a Cherry Red Gibson ES-345, to be exact. Today, Gibson has announced a global search for the guitar that Michael J. Fox played in the classic time travel adventure Back to the Future. The piece of cinema and music history has been nowhere to be found for 40 years, ever since the film's release in 1985, and Gibson is now calling on fans to help recover it.
The guitar manufacturer shared a video to YouTube launching the campaign, featuring Back to the Future cast members Michael J. Fox, Lea Thompson, Christopher Lloyd and Harry Waters Jr., along with the film's co-creator Bob Gale and musician Huey Lewis — all asking viewers to come forward with information they may have about the missing instrument.
The search kicks off alongside the announcement of a documentary titled Lost to the Future, which will celebrate the 40th anniversary of the beloved film with interviews with Fox, Thompson, Lloyd, Waters, Gale and Lewis, as well as with musicians who were inspired by Marty McFly's rockstar moment in the Enchantment Under the Sea dance scene, when he played "Earth Angel" and Chuck Berry's "Johnny B. Goode."
The film will also follow Gibson's worldwide hunt for the guitar, taking viewers from prop warehouses to auction houses to vintage guitar shops in their efforts to solve the 40-year mystery.
Lost to the Future is produced by Gibson Films, directed by Doc Crotzer and narrated by Gibson's Director of Brand Experience, Mark Agnesi.
"Join the filmmakers as they search the globe for the most important guitar in cinema history, all while telling the story of the iconic movie scene that inspired a generation to pick up the guitar," reads the YouTube video's caption.
This October will see Gibson undertake other Back to the Future-themed endeavours, including an episode of Gibson TV: The Collection focusing on Michael J. Fox's history of playing the guitar. Gibson and Epiphone will also be releasing reissues of the ES-345 and Back to the Future apparel.
In hopes that the original guitar hasn't really been forever lost to the space-time continuum, Gibson is asking fans to call or text 1-855-345-1955 with leads on its whereabouts, or submit a tip to www.LostToTheFuture.com.
Watch the call to action below.