Back To The Future: Why Jennifer Was Recast Twice (2024)

The recasting of Jennifer in Back to the Future might have gone unnoticed by some viewers, but Marty McFly's girlfriend is a role with a complex history. In the original 1985 Back to the Future, Claudia Wells plays Jennifer Parker, Marty's supportive love interest and high school sweetheart. She has a limited role in the first movie, since most of the action takes place in 1955, but she has a much larger role in the sequel Back to the Future Part II. However, the sequel sees Elizabeth Shue in the role, and she remained as the character in Back to the Future Part III as well.

All three of the Back to the Future movies are set in quick succession, with the ending of each movie setting up the beginning of the next entry. With the action of one movie getting immediately picked up in the sequel, it made it difficult to have a main character suddenly change actors between movies. However, while Elizabeth Shue taking over the role of Jennifer in Back to the Future Part II may have been a fairly easy transition, that is not where the casting drama ends, as Melora Hardin was the first actor to play Jennifer in Back to the Future.

The Jennifer Back To The Future Recast Explained

The Recasting Of Marty McFly Meant Original Jennifer Melora Hardin Lost The Role

Claudia Wells was originally cast to play Jennifer in Back to the Future; however, a scheduling conflict made her unavailable to play the part [via People]. Melora Hardin was then brought in to take her Back to the Future role. However, this was before Michael J. Fox had been cast in the movie, and the original Jennifer Claudia Wells starred opposite a very different Marty McFly played by Eric Stoltz.

After filming for six weeks, the producers decided he wasn't right for the part, and Stoltz was fired as Marty in Back to the Future, getting replaced by the producer's original first choice, Michael J. Fox. Unfortunately for Hardin, she was deemed "too tall" for Fox [via Wired]. By the time this had happened, Claudia Wells' show had wrapped, and she was free to return to Back to the Future.

The Tragic Reason Claudia Wells Didn't Return As Jennifer For Back To The Future 2

Jennifer Was Not The Only Back To The Future Character Recast In The Sequel

After the massive success of Back to the Future, two sequels were set to go into back-to-back production. Sadly, Claudia Wells had to turn down the offer to return as Jennifer because her mother (who was also her manager) was dying of breast cancer. This tragedy led to Elisabeth Shue being cast as Wells' replacement in the subsequent films. Because the sequel starts right where the last film left off, Back to the Future's ending was reshot with Shue. This was one of quite a few logistical setbacks the production faced. In addition to the characters of Jennifer and Marty, George McFly also had to be recast after Crispin Glover chose not to return for the sequels.

What Back To The Future’s Three Jennifers Are Doing Now

Shue Is Likely The Most Famous Of The Jennifer Actors

All three actresses have continued their remarkable careers beyond playing Jennifer in Back to the Future and into the present. Claudia Wells participates in Back to the Future conventions and still acts on occasion. Elisabeth Shue has been in many notable movies and TV shows since Back to the Future, most recently Cobra Kai and The Boys, while the Emmy-nominated Melora Hardin is best known for playing Jan on The Office. If Michael J. Fox had just been a little taller, she might have been the franchise's leading lady, and Elisabeth Shue may have never been involved at all.

A Jennifer Back To The Future Theory Covers The Recast Problem

Time Travel Opens The Doors For Many Explanations For The New Jennifer

See Also

Why Elisabeth Shue Replaced Claudia Wells in Back to the Future

A clever Back to the Future theory that fans have come up with might help explain the recasting of Jennifer within the universe of the movies. Whether it be a new Bruce Banner in the MCU or a new Daario Naharis in Game of Thrones, it can be hard for a big franchise to pull off recasting a major character.

However, Back to the Future has time travel on its side through which nearly anything is possible. Specifically, the movies deal with the effects on the future that come about by Marty tampering with the past. Fans theorize that whatever Marty did in 1955 resulted in a new-looking Jennifer in 1985. Given all the changes Marty is responsible for in 1985, it is not hard to imagine this being true.

Why Michael J. Fox Replaced Eric Stoltz As Marty McFly

Stoltz's Less Comedic Performance And On-Set Behavior Led To The Change

Ultimately, a crucial factor in the multiple recastings of Jennifer in the Back to the Future franchise was the initial recasting of Michael J. Fox as Marty McFly after Eric Stoltz was fired. Fox had always been the first choice to play Marty, but his schedule on the sitcom Family Ties prevented him from signing on when production initially began. Stoltz's performance as McFly was generally alright, but apparently, he didn't hit quite the right comedic note that was essential to the success of Back to the Future.

Additionally, Stoltz's personality on set and his method acting, in which he only answered to the name Marty and wore his costume clothes at all times, rubbed some of Back to the Future's other actors the wrong way. While Michael J. Fox's recasting meant the unfortunate loss of Melora Hardin from Back to the Future's cast, it was ultimately the right call for the franchise, and Jennifer's triple recasting has become a fun quirk in a production process full of them.

Back to the Future

PG

Marty McFly, a 17-year-old high school student, is accidentally sent 30 years into the past in a time-traveling DeLorean invented by his close friend, the maverick scientist Doc Brown. In 1955, he meets his parents when they were his age, and must step in to make sure they wind up together before he gets back to 1985.

Release Date

July 3, 1985

Director

Robert Zemeckis

Cast

Claudia Wells , Christopher Lloyd , James Tolkan , Thomas F. Wilson , Michael J. Fox , Wendie Jo Sperber , Crispin Glover , Marc McClure , Lea Thompson

Runtime

116 minutes

Writers

Robert Zemeckis , Bob Gale

Budget

$19 million

Studio(s)

Universal Pictures

Sequel(s)