Nike Teases Self-Tying Sneakers On Back To The Future Day, Internet Freaks Out

It all started with a tweet. On Back To The Future Day's Eve (a.k.a. yesterday), Nike cryptically tweeted at the film's star, Michael J. Fox:

It may not look like much, but this three-word tweet (which Fox hasn't yet responded to) has sent the Internet into a collective freakout — and rightly so. If you haven't been on any form of social media today, you might have forgotten that October 21, 2015 is the day that Fox's Marty McFly and Christopher Lloyd's Doc Brown travel to in the 1989 film, Back To The Future Part II. In this installment of the franchise, McFly comes across a curious pair of kicks — self-lacing high-tops called Nike MAG. Here's a little refresher of what that awesomeness looked like:

In 2011, more than two decades after the world was introduced to the future of footwear, Nike issued a limited release of the Nike MAG — 1,500 pairs total, which were sold on eBay, with proceeds donated to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research. Nike announced that the 10-day auction raised over $4.7 million (the grand total was calculated at $5,695,190.53 by sneaker aficionado site Nice Kicks).

In January, Nike designer Tinker Hatfield announced that his team was working on a new version of McFly's enviable kicks. SneakerNews reported that the brand had obtained a patent for the self-tying technology the summer prior, in July 2014. So, it's been a waiting game for Nike MAG 2015 — until now. A series of tweets from Nike's PR director, Heidi Burgett, seemingly confirm not only that the Nike MAG exists, but also that the first pair is here in New York. The answers to "where?" and "when?" and "HOW CAN WE GET THEM OMG?" are still up in the air, but many are taking this as an official announcement that the sneaker of the future has indeed arrived. We reached out to Nike for comment, and a representative said the only comment they could add was that "the first pair of self-lacing Nike Mag shoes is in New York City." In the meantime, we'll be refreshing our Twitter and Instagram feeds incessantly in search of more clues.

Update #1: Michael J. Fox himself has joined the fray with this tweet: a picture of a letter from Hatfield informing him of the new Nike MAG reissue that will "support in aid of the Michael J. Fox Foundation in 2016." See the message, below.

Update #2: It's all happening! After nearly a whole day of speculation, Nike confirmed that it is indeed fulfilling the decade-long prophecy of the self-lacing sneaker come spring 2016, with a limited release of the 2015 Nike MAG. Like the sneaker of ​​​​_Back To The Future 2_​​​​ fame, this high-top style will feature power-lace technology, which is "an individually responsive system that senses the wearer’s motion to provide adaptive on-demand comfort and support," according to Nike's website. The future — it's here! However, you won't be able to stroll into a Nike store to pick up a pair. Nike says these kicks — which are similar to the 2011 release of the Nike MAG replica iteration — "will only be available via auction," with all proceeds going towards Michael J. Fox's foundation. Read the full announcement here.