Alternate Reality: Eric Stoltz as Marty McFly Footage

TelltaleGames

Marty McFly was played by Michael J. Fox in the Back to the Future films; everybody knows that. What you may not have known is that he wasn't the first person actually cast in the legendary role - Eric Stoltz was. NBC Universal has just released this teaser of footage taken while Stoltz played Marty, with more extensive scenes being included on the Blu-Ray release of the film later this month. 

[readmore]Just a little bit of history on the casting switcheroo. While Michael J. Fox was Back to the Future creators Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale's first choice to play Doc Brown's young friend, he couldn't take the role due to his commitments to the 1980's hit television sit-com Family Ties. Zemeckis and Gale went ahead and cast Eric Stoltz in the role after seeing his sensational performance in a pre-release version the film, Mask.

After five weeks of filming, Back to the Future's producers knew that Stoltz, while a terrific dramatic actor, wasn't right for the role of Marty McFly. Even though all of the Marty scenes from those five weeks of shooting would have to be re-shot, they knew Marty had to be recast. At this point, Michael J. Fox was available, so Back to the Future's producers cast him in the role they originally envisioned him in - and that as they say, is history.

I'm really excited to see the Stoltz footage on the upcoming Blu-Ray release. I'd seen the above image for years in the Making of Back to the Future book I got as a kid, but I figured that would be all of Eric Stoltz as Marty McFly that I'd ever see. It'd be interesting to see a complete Back to the Future with Stoltz in the role, just to see what it would be like - I'm guessing the tone would be completely different. 

What do you think of Eric Stoltz as Marty McFly? Are you excited to see the previously unreleased footage on the Blu-Ray later this month?

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