It's Too Late For You

JACKSON JONES (16, African-American, chubby) carpools with his sister AVA (18, motherly) and her friends MADHAV (18, Indian pyromaniac,) AARON (18, East-Asian, motorhead), EMMA (18, Band Geek) and JENNIFER (Ava’s girlfriend, nose-ring hipster badass) to school where Jackson plans on asking his crush to prom. Jackson and Ava bring a lunch to BILL (50’s) a homeless man by their school who is unaware of his surroundings and mutters the same phrase over and over. Ava and Jackson make Bill lunch every day. Jackson and Karina (16, Hispanic, popular and put together) are partnered for a chemistry lab, and Jackson lies about having a fake id to seem cool to Karina. Karina invites Jackson to a party, and he says yes. As they leave school Jackson approaches Karina to ask her to Prom, but is kidnapped by a MASKED MAN in a white van before he can ask her.

The MASKED MAN claims to be Jackson from the future and asks to be called PRINCE (50s, African-American, rugged, and fit). Prince says he was part of a time travel experiment and needs Jackson’s help breaking into the lab to get back to his time. Jackson refuses and fights Prince. He escapes the van but is hit by a car, breaking his arm.

At the hospital, Jackson is interrogated by JOE (40s), an FBI agent who asks Jackson to call him if he sees Prince again. At school, Jackson learns that the school douche BRETT has asked Karina to Prom. Karina asks Jackson to use his fake to buy alcohol for the party. Jackson agrees. Failing to find alcohol or a person with a real fake ID, Jackson goes to the liquor store, but on his way see’s Prince following him in the white Van. Jackson blackmails Prince saying he will get him arrested unless Prince buys him alcohol.

At the liquor store, Jackson and Prince are stopped by Joe and an AGENT who confirm that Prince is from the future and try to arrest them both. Prince and Jackson freeze Joe and the Agent with their own freeze guns and flee, but not before Jackson grabs the alcohol he needs for the party.

Jackson and Prince form a plan to send Prince back that night so Jackson still has time to go to Karina’s party. Jackson is shocked to learn that Prince doesn’t remember Karina. Prince says Karina just ends up hurting them, and Jackson should ignore her - a very emotional response for someone Prince claims to not remember. Prince reveals he has a wife and all the other crushes before her seem irrelevant. Jackson is thrilled to hear they find love.

They two break into the time travel lab using an ID they stole from Joe at the liquor store. Inside the lab, the owner of the lab MR. WATERMAN and Joe are berated by FUTURE MR. WATERMAN. Mr. Waterman accuses his future self of sabotaging the lab by sending Prince back because he knew Prince would escape and sent him anyway. Future Mr. Waterman admits that he intentionally sabotaged Mr. Waterman’s operation by sending Prince through time because he needed the data to finish his own time machine. Mr. Waterman storms out, planning a way to sabotage his future self.

Prince and Jackson find the time travel lab. Jackson asks Prince if he needs help, but Prince tells Jackson to leave it to him. Jackson tells Prince how happy he is he met him, and the two say goodbye as Prince boots up the machine.

Jackson escapes the lab and goes to Karina’s party with the alcohol, where he is treated like a hero. The cops come, and everyone flees.

Back at the lab, a furious Joe finds that the Time Machine has been destroyed. Prince is nowhere to be found.

Jackson and Karina flee from the cops. They find Brett and FRANCESCA making out, and Karina is heartbroken. Jackson comforts Karina. He asks her to prom, and she accepts.

The moment is cut short by Prince who claims the time machine malfunctioned and exploded. Jackson doesn’t believe him, and Prince reveals that he actually traveled back in time to stop Jackson and Karina from getting together, because in the future Karina divorces Jackson and leaves him with nothing. Prince curses out Karina, who kicks Prince. Jackson and Karina escape, with Jackson vowing to never become such a bitter and unfulfilled person as Prince.

Jackson gets into bed, shocked by the day he’s had. A light appears in his window, blinding him, and Jackson wakes up to two Aliens who interrogate him about Prince. The Aliens bicker amongst themselves, and Jackson escapes. Jackson realizes he is actually back in the time travel lab, and the aliens are an interrogation tactic used by Mr. Waterman and Joe. Joe captures Jackson and brings him to Mr. Waterman’s office.

Mr. Waterman reveals that he is creating time travel to save his wife and child who went missing years ago. Prince and Future Mr. Waterman are from an alternate timeline, and Future Mr. Waterman knew Prince would destroy his time machine, ruining past Mr. Waterman’s chance of saving his family, but giving Future Mr. Waterman pivotal data needed to save his own family.

Mr. Waterman’s experiments have shown that not only is the past unchangeable but the future is also predetermined as well. Jackson can’t believe this is true, because he can’t stand the idea that he is doomed to become Prince, a man who ruined his own life and blames others for the damage he’s done. Mr. Waterman says that if Jackson can get him Prince, there is a chance Mr. Waterman will be able to figure out time travel, and in doing so how to change the past and the future. Jackson agrees to help Mr. Waterman.

A montage plays out, intercutting Prince and Adult Karina’s relationship ending and divorce proceedings with Jackson and Karina getting ready for prom together. It ends with Prince and Adult Karina sharing one last dance before Prince leaves and they start their lives as divorces. Match cut to Jackson and Karina sharing their first dance as a couple, where Jackson asks Karina if she feels doomed to become people they don’t want to become. Karina says that the relationship may only be a high school fling, but that means they should enjoy the moment even more. Heartbroken, Jackson leaves prom, where the power cuts out.

Outside the school, Jackson sees a BLUE PORTAL that has opened up in the sky. Prince tries to kidnap Jackson again, saying Jackson ruined his life, but Jackson goes with him willingly. Back at prom, the power is still out and Ava and Jennifer are arguing because Ava feels Jennifer is pressuring her to have sex before she’s ready. Madhav gets a newscast on his phone, which shows the blue portal in the sky, saying it’s incredibly dangerous to go outside. Ava runs out to save Bill, and Jennifer follows.

Jackson and Prince drink together and complain about Karina, but Jackson secretly sends Joe their location.

Ava and Jennifer help Bill, who suddenly becomes fully conscious and exclaims they need to find Jackson. Ava and Jennifer sneak into Prom with Bill and they meet up with their carpool friends and Karina, now referred to as the Subaru Gang. Bill explains future Mr. Waterman sent him back in time to retrieve Prince because if Prince and Bill don’t return to their original timeline, both timelines will collapse into each other through the blue wormhole in the sky and be destroyed. Past Mr. Waterman wants to kill Prince to ensure that both universes are destroyed because he wants to kill Future Mr. Waterman as revenge for ruining his chances of saving his family. The Subaru gang launches a plan into action. Aaron turns off the generator so they can escape sight unseen, Emma and her band play a concert to distract the Prom goers so the Subaru gang can escape, Brett (legally blind) guides the group through the darkness, and Ava, Jennifer, Karina, Brett, Bill, and Madhav take off in Ava’s Subaru to save Jackson.

There is a knock on the van door. Prince answers it and is surprised to find Joe. Prince tells Jackson to drive away, but Jackson betrays Prince and forces Prince out of the van, saying he this is the only way to change his fate and not become Prince. Joe pulls a gun on Prince, and Jackson fights Joe, saying the deal was to turn Prince over to Mr. Waterman, not to kill him. Joe says they lied and aims at Prince… when he is hit by the Subaru with Ava behind the wheel. The Subaru Gang rescues Prince and Jackson, and Bill fills them in on the plan. They need to get Prince and Bill back to their original timeline, but since Prince destroyed the time machine, their only chance is to go through the portal.

The Subaru Gang gets to the warehouse that the time travel lab is hidden under. In front of the warehouse is Mr. Waterman and a band of Agents. Madhav, being a pyromaniac, lights Prince’s van on fire, and they roll the van down the hill, which explodes and takes out Mr. Waterman and his agents.

The Subaru Gang enters the warehouse, where a beam of blue light is pulling things into the portal above the warehouse. Bill says his goodbyes and enters the beam. He is shot by Mr. Waterman, who has recovered from the explosion with two of his agents to make one final stand. The Subaru Gang fights them off, with Prince saving Karina from an agent. Prince apologizes to Karina for the horrible things he said to her.

Mr. Waterman captures Ava, who is saved by Jennifer. Ava says it’s the sexiest thing anyone has ever done, and she and Jennifer make up. Prince has second thoughts about entering the portal because he doesn’t think he can face the life he has ruined. Jackson says that he doesn’t believe in himself, but he believes in Prince. Prince asks Jackson to promise he won’t become him, and Jackson says he makes some different choices, but he hopes he doesn’t become a different person. Prince may be the guy who ruined their life, but he’s about to be the guy who fixes it. Prince enters the portal, and on his way, tells Jackson he loves him. Karina apologizes to Jackson for saying she thought their relationship was just a high school fling. Jackson says he cares about Karina, but he needs to work on caring about himself before they can be together. They agree to be friends and see what happens.

Finally, Jackson presents his final English essay to the class, describing who he wants to be as an adult. As Jackson reads, a montage plays out where we see each member of the ensemble cast as kids, and then as adults. Jackson talks about the potential meaning we have infinite potential, which means we can make our greatest dreams come true, but it also means we have the potential to become our worst selves. As he talks we see Adult Emma play for a professional orchestra. Madhav becomes a firefighter. Aaron goes on to design concept cars. Ava gets home in scrubs, and she and Jennifer celebrate an anniversary. Brett becomes a porn star. Francesca gets a boob job. Karina is sworn in as a senator. Jackson finishes his essay by saying that we never run out of potential, but we run out of the courage to change. He’s not sure if he will reach his potential, but he hopes that he grows up to be someone brave enough to try. As he says this we see Adult Karina answer the door, and Prince is there with flowers.

The End.