How ‘Back to the Future II’s’ 2015 compares with the actual 2015

“Where we’re going, we don’t need roads.”

With those words, Doc Brown whisks Marty McFly and Jennifer Parker into the future. Oct. 21, 2015, to be exact, and the clock is ticking away until the exact hour that the three visit in 1989’s “Back to the Future II.”

In the film, writers Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale showed us a 2015 with decidedly “futuristic” aspects, including flying cars, a lack of lawyers, an abundance of robots and holograms, as well as technology now mostly forgotten, such as pay phones and fax machines.

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Now that the actual 2015 is upon us, it’s time to see how reality compares with the 2015 that Zemeckis and Gale imagined.

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Hoverboards

Fans have been waiting a long time for an actual hoverboard to hit the market. While Mattel released a full-scale replica of the board featured in the movie in 2012, it was a prop that didn’t actually “hover.” Leading up to the hype of Back to the Future Day, Universal even released a commercial for the fictional hoverboard that exists in the movie.

But it seems hoverboard technology is not just imaginary anymore. Both Lexus and Hendo (Arx Pax) have been developing hoverboards that use magnetic fields to float above special surfaces (the technology for the two are a bit different, but we won’t get into the specifics here).

Power laces

Another magical moment from “Back to the Future II” is watching Marty discover that clothing in 2015 features auto-adjustment technology, like his jacket and shoes.

In 2011, Nike manufactured and released a limited run of the Nike MAG -- Marty’s fictional high-top shoes from the movie. While the sneakers looked the part, they were missing one key component -- power laces.

However, designer Tinker Hatfield confirmed in 2014 that power laces were on the way this year (with Nike teasing they are on the way today, to be exact).

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“Jaws 19”

While Universal made a trailer for “Jaws 19,” the film actually only exists in the fictional 2015. On the other hand, “Back to the Future II” did correctly predict the prevalence of 3D movies, viewers’ hunger for sharksploitation films (which have of late been satisfied on the small screen) and that certain franchise films would be as popular as ever.

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Pepsi Perfect

Pepsi joined the hype for “Back to the Future” Day by creating an ad for the soft drink Marty ordered at Cafe 80’s in the movie. They also announced that a limited run of the futuristic Pepsi (with a special collector’s case) will actually be made available for purchase.

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USA Today

While “Back to the Future II” missed the mark on pay phones and fax machines still being prevalent in 2015, physical newspapers actually did make it into the 21st century. To commemorate the occasion, USA Today (the newspaper that Doc Brown showed to Marty to explain the future event he was trying to prevent) announced it will create a fake cover based on the one depicted in the movie to wrap its actual paper.

Hector Rondon of the Chicago Cubs throws a pitch during Game 3 of the 2015 MLB National League Championship Series at Wrigley Field on Tuesday.

(Jonathan Daniel / Getty Images)

Chicago Cubs win the World Series

In “Back to the Future II,” the Cubs win the World Series by sweeping Miami. And while Miami won’t be in the World Series, the Cubs still have a chance, even if they’re down three games to none against the Mets in the National League Championship Series. Actually, the fact that Miami has a baseball team at all is a prediction that the movie got right.

People test the Oculus-made Samsung Gear VR Virtually Reality headset at the Oculus Connect 2 event in Hollywood on Sept. 24.

(Frederic J. Brown / AFP/Getty Images)

Video glasses

The 2015 McFly household reveals a world with flat screens, video calling and voice controlled television -- all things that exist now. And while the film didn’t quite predict that cellphones, computers or tablets would be a major component in households, the dinner scene with the McFly kids busy with their video glasses reveals how technology has seeped into pretty much every daily ritual. Plus, those video glasses don’t seem too far off from the Oculus Rift or Google Glass sets.

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Toyota truck

Toyota, of course, is better known for the Marty’s 1985 truck than its 2015 offerings, but it didn’t stop them from getting into the “Back to the Future” spirit. They created a commercial set at Statler Toyota (the Hill Valley dealership where Marty got his truck) teasing the classic 4x4 truck, as well as another announcement, which turned out to be technology inspired by the Mr. Fusion reactor that powered the DeLorean with household trash.

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Flux capacitor

Any “Back to the Future” fan can tell you that it’s the Flux Capacitor that makes time travel possible with Doc Brown’s DeLorean. While we may be waiting a while for an actual Flux Capacitor to make time travel a reality, Ford is currently offering an optional Flux Capacitor upgrade to cars configured on their website.

And there you have it. While we haven’t quite reached a future where roads are unnecessary (although flying cars are in development), we can pay for rides with a touch of a finger (thanks to the likes of Uber and Lyft), we have locks controlled by fingerprints and we have hands-free (rather controller-free) video games. The future is now.

Twitter: @tracycbrown