Summary
The Back to the Future franchise remains one of the most popular film series almost four decades after its initial release, and it is truly baffling that the core cast has been changed several times without many people noticing. It is common knowledge that Michael J. Fox wasn’t the original Marty McFly, but he wasn’t the only core cast member to join the production after filming had already begun. Still, the actor did such a great job of portraying the iconic time traveler that it’s hard to imagine someone else as Marty. Fox was born for the role, and no one else could have done it better.
Surprisingly enough, most of the main characters were recast — and some even more than once. For instance, Back to the Future’s Jennifer was recast twice for the most bizarre reasons, but each actress offered her unique take on the character and enriched her more than any one star ever could. This sci-fi film series hit a few roadblocks on its way to success, and yet none of them stopped Back to the Future from becoming a cult classic for decades to come. Recasts or not, the franchise turned out to be better than anyone could have ever hoped for it to be.
5 Marty McFly
Eric Stoltz & Michael J. Fox
Michael J. Fox was Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale’s first choice to play Back to the Future’s Marty, but due to his prior commitment to Family Ties, a popular sitcom that ran from 1982 to 1989, the actor couldn’t sign on to the project. Enter Eric Stoltz, whose popularity skyrocketed after his stellar performance in Mask. Naturally, the star applied the same approach to playing Marty, specifically method acting, and he took the role and the movie very seriously. Stoltz would only answer if addressed as Marty, and he would focus on the tragedy of returning to the present that dramatically changed from what Marty had known.
While Stoltz’s attitude to work was admirable, Zemeckis wanted the actor to be more easy-going and have a comedic, rather than dramatic, approach to portraying Marty. Stoltz completed roughly six weeks of filming before he was let go due to creative differences. The producers managed to work out a deal regarding a shooting schedule with Fox, and he replaced Stoltz in Back to the Future for good. The actor was able to view Marty in the same way the director did, and the franchise ended up incorporating the perfect mix of comedy and sci-fi across all three films.
4 George McFly
Crispin Glover & Jeffrey Weissman
Crispin Glover famously portrayed George McFly, Marty’s father, in Back to the Future, but he didn’t reprise the role in either the second or third installment. As it turned out, the actor didn’t see eye-to-eye with the filmmaker regarding the original movie’s ending, believing that the McFlys becoming rich and seemingly happier sent out the wrong message. In addition, Glover was reportedly offered a much lower salary than his co-stars, so he opted out of returning. Instead, the creative team decided to use footage of Glover and another actor in prosthetics, and that’s how Jeffrey Weissman ended up playing George McFly in Back to the Future Part II.
3 Jennifer Parker
Melora Hardin, Claudia Wells & Elisabeth Shue
Melora Hardin, best known for her role as Jan in The Office, was part of Back to the Future’s original cast as Jennifer Parker, Marty’s love interest. However, she got the part alongside Eric Stoltz, but had to be replaced with Claudia Wells due to the height difference between her and Fox. At 5 foot 7, Hardin looked great opposite Stoltz, who was over 6 feet tall, but apparently, she didn’t appear quite right next to Fox, who was only 5 foot 4. According to Hardin, at the time, the executives didn’t want Marty’s girlfriend to be taller than him, as this would “emasculate” the lead character.
In the end, the role of Jennifer went to Wells, who was approximately the same height as Fox. However, tragedy unexpectedly struck her family — Wells’ mother, who was also her manager, was diagnosed with terminal breast cancer — and the actress had to turn down the offer to return for Back to the Future Part II. She didn’t take on any roles for over two decades, and Elisabeth Shue got cast as Jennifer in the second movie. The star shined in the film and later reprised her role in Back to the Future Part III. However, it wasn’t the end for Wells as Jennifer, as she got the chance to voice her character in Back to the Future: The Game 25 years later.
2 Emmett “Doc” Brown
John Lithgow & Christopher Lloyd
It seemed like Christopher Lloyd was born to play the eccentric inventor and time traveler. However, once upon a time, another actor almost played Doc Brown, and that was John Lithgow. Neil Canton, one of the Back to the Future producers, loved the actor in The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension. His character, Dr. Emilio Lizardo, was a quirky scientist, similar to Doc Brown, which was why Canton thought that Lithgow would be perfect for the part. Luckily, the star had already signed on to some other project, and the role eventually went to Lloyd, although it took some convincing on the executives’ part.
1 Biff Tannen
J.J. Cohen & Thomas F. Wilson
Hardin wasn’t the only cast member to lose her job because of height differences. J.J. Cohen was supposed to play Marty’s bully, Biff Tannen, but at 5 foot 4, he didn’t look particularly frightening next to Stoltz, who was over 6 inches taller than him. In the end, Thomas F. Wilson replaced Cohen as Tannen, but unlike Hardin, the actor didn’t end up fired from Back to the Future altogether. He landed the part of Joey “Skinhead” Unger, one of Tannen’s minions, and he went on to reprise the role in the second movie. Cohen even appeared in Back to the Future Part III as one of the members of Needles’ gang.
Gale, one of the creators of the Back to the Future franchise, later commented that Cohen would have kept his initial role if Michael J. Fox had originally been cast without any complications. Still, things worked out for the better since Wilson’s portrayal of Biff Tannen was absolutely stunning. In addition, the actor portrayed Biff’s grandson, Griff Tannen, in Back to the Future Part II and Biff’s great-grandfather, Buford “Mad Dog” Tannen, in Back to the Future Part III. Wilson had an amazing range, as all his characters were memorable in their own way.
