The story about Eric Stoltz playing Marty McFly until he was replaced five weeks into production by Michael J. Fox is one that not many know. Fans of Back to the Future no doubt are aware that Fox was the successor to play the role, but what ever became of the footage featuring Stoltz? None has been seen in any of the extras featured on the previous DVD releases of Back to the Future. However that all changes with the upcoming release of the Back to the Future 25th Anniversary Trilogy (Read the press release).
In one of the featurettes, director Robert Zemeckis, writer Bob Gale, and executive producer Steven Spielberg speak candidly about the casting change.
As Spielberg says in the clip below, “(Zemeckis) showed me the first five weeks of shooting that he had put together. And he said, ‘I just don’t think we’re getting the laughs I was hoping we would get.’ ”
With only two feature films to his credit (Romancing the Stone, Used Cars), Zemeckis was able to convince Universal to reshoot five weeks of scenes for Back to the Future with Michael J. Fox in the Marty McFly role. And the rest, as they say, is history. Or is it future?
