Parkinson's-stricken Michael J. Fox gets emotional 'Back to the Future' reunion at Comic Con

Michael J. Fox still has the love of the fans as the popular actor received a standing ovation at the Rhode Island Comic Con as the Back to the Future star and 1980s icon battles Parkinson's Disease.

Now 63, he has been retired from acting for a considerable amount of time as he tries to navigate the condition and tries to improve his quality of life, but he still retains the adoration of fans who remember his exceptional showings as Marty McFly.

So when he headed onto the stage in New England along with his co-star, Lea Thompson (Lorraine), he immediately was greeted to raptures of applause, whilst he was also joined at the event by Christopher Lloyd (Doc/Emmett Brown) and Thomas F. Wilson (Biff/Griff).

They all entertained fans with a Q&A about the popular 1980s flick, which debuted in 1985 before producing sequels in 1989 and 1990 to critical acclaim as Fox starred as McFly, who went on adventures through time in order to rescue his own future.

"I didn't know what the hell I was getting into," Fox said of the film series. "[It was] one of the few perfect films."

Whilst no more films have been released since the 1990 instalment, set in the Wild West, that closed out the trilogy, the lead stars often reunite for fan events or even cameos together and previously met in 2023 to celebrrate the 38th anniversary of the 1985 release.

Fox's Parkinson's journey

Fox received his diagnosis at the age of 29 in 1991 but kept it private for several years before announcing it to the world in 1998, and admitted he found frustration as he tried to think of situations that may have caused the onset of the genetic condition.

He even slipped into substance abuse with alcohol in the early 1990s and found himself battling depression before deciding he wanted to advocate on behalf of others, leading to the 1998 revelation to the world.

He established the Michael J. Fox Foundation, which aims to drive forwards research into finding a cure, and has even gone on to raise $100m to go towards funding research to investigate treatment methods.