By now, most Back to the Future fans know the movie almost looked very different. Before Michael J. Fox became the hoverboard-riding, guitar-shredding, time-jumping face of the franchise, the role of Marty McFly was played by Eric Stoltz — and not just for a day or two. Stoltz shot six weeks of footage before being replaced, a move so rare and risky it became the stuff of Hollywood legend. Now, four decades later, we finally have a clear look at what the other actor could have looked like in the role.
In a new interview with Entertainment Weekly tied to the film’s 40th anniversary (and the release of Fox’s memoir Future Boy), Fox and his co-author Nelle Fortenberry opened up about the anxious, fast-paced handoff that nearly derailed the movie. And why did the recast happen in the first place? The Family Ties actor offered a gracious but honest take:
The thing that Eric did was just a different take. It had a little more Shakespeare, a little more tragedy. And I was doing all that I had in my wheelhouse, I didn't have that tragedy. So I played what I knew.
That lighter, more comedic tone proved to be the missing piece. Steven Spielberg, Robert Zemeckis, and Bob Gale quickly saw that Fox’s version of Marty clicked better with the tone of the film, and audiences obviously agreed.
As Fortenberry put it, the studio initially tried to keep the recast quiet. They didn’t even announce the swap until Fox had already started. But once industry trades caught wind, the headlines weren’t kind. One called the film “troubled,” fueling industry rumors that Back to the Future might be doomed.
Still, Fox was careful not to villainize Stoltz, who he says poured just as much energy into the role as he did. In Future Boy, he writes about what they had in common:
What transpired on Back to the Future had not made us enemies or fated rivals… As it turned out, we had much more in common than our spin as Marty.
And the rest, as they say, is history. The only way anything is changing on that front is with a Delorean of your own. Jokes aside, I cannot for the life of me imagine another actor in the role of Marty–even someone as talented as Eric Stoltz. The role is iconic because of what Michael J. Fox brought to it. And funny enough, it almost never happened.
Fox barely had time to rehearse. In fact, he hadn’t even met Christopher Lloyd when they filmed Doc Brown’s dramatic entrance. The rest of the cast, including Lea Thompson and Crispin Glover, had already shot several scenes with Stoltz, meaning Fox was inserting himself into a movie already in progress. The Spin City actor recalled:
He jumped out [of the van], and I thought, ‘Holy s---, it’s going to be great. He’s crazy,’
And great it was. It's a movie widely seen not just as one of the best of the ‘80s but as one of the greatest sci-fi films of all time. Even recently, Back to the Future returned to cinemas and the 2025 movie release schedule on October 31 in 4K glory, allowing fans to revisit it (or see it for the first time) and celebrate the version that became timeless.
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
