The Big Picture

• Eric Stoltz was originally cast as Marty McFly in the Back to the Future trilogy but was replaced by Michael J. Fox who turned the character into a pop culture icon.
• Originally, Marty and Doc Brown were supposed to travel through time in a refrigerator-sized box instead of a DeLorean car, which would have drastically changed the movie.
• Claudia Wells played Jennifer in the original film, but due to personal reasons, she was replaced by Elisabeth Shue in the sequel. Wells walked away from the fame and money to take care of her dying mother.

The Back to the Future trilogy might be a classic movie franchise, but that doesn't mean the Robert Zemeckis-directed films didn't undergo some struggles. Most of us probably know that it was Eric Stoltz and not Michael J. Fox cast as Marty McFly, but when Stoltz was fired due to Zemeckis and producer Steven Spielberg not liking his performance, it was Fox who came in and turned the character into a pop culture icon.

There were other, less talked-about changes in Back to the Future as well. One interesting one was altered in the screenplay. Before the time machine was changed to a DeLorean, Marty, and Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd) were going to be traveling through time in a refrigerator-sized box. Can you imagine how different the movie would have been without all of those cool car scenes? And then there's the small but pivotal role of Marty's girlfriend, Jennifer. Claudia Wells played Jennifer in the original film, but in the sequel, it was Elisabeth Shue by Marty McFly's side. There's a good reason for that change, and it actually wasn't the first time the part was recast. Even Claudia Wells' role was originally meant to be played by another actress in the first Back to the Future.

Who Is Jennifer in 'Back to the Future'?

Jennifer Parker doesn't have a lot to do in the Back to the Future trilogy, but as Marty McFly's girlfriend and future wife and mother of his children, she's important to the plot. She's a big part of what Marty's always trying to get back to whenever he gets sent forward or backward in time. In the first film, when Claudia Wells plays Jennifer, we meet her waiting outside of school for a late Marty. Right away, we can't help but like her, as this small act, which will make her late and get her in trouble as well, shows just how much she loves Marty. Later, she'll accompany him to his Battle of the Bands audition and console him when he's rejected by a cameoing Huey Lewis for being just too darn loud. She's supportive, giving him ideas, and when a woman outside gives them a Save the Clock Tower brochure, she writes "Love you!" on the back of it. We don't see her again until the end, when Marty gets back from 1955 and is excited to see her walking up his driveway. It's then that Doc Brown arrives from 2015, warning Marty and Jennifer that they need to come with him because their children's lives are at stake. She's speechless, not saying anything, as she climbs into the DeLorean with Doc and Marty.

Jennifer's part was expanded in the sequel when Elisabeth Shue was in the role. She suddenly has a lot to say at the beginning of Back to the Future Part II. Jennifer asks Doc Brown so many questions about the future that he uses a device to put her to sleep and then leaves her behind in an alley. (Yeah, that wasn't the best decision he and Marty ever made.) Police later find her and take her to her 2015 home, where young Jennifer meets older Jennifer, causing them to both pass out. She's taken back to 1985 and wakes up later thinking it was all a dream.

In the finale, Back to the Future Part III, Shue reprises the role of Jennifer. She doesn't show up until the very end, however, accompanying Marty to see the DeLorean that's been smashed to bits by a train when he left 1885 for 1985. When Doc Brown shows up on his flying train to say goodbye, Jennifer asks him why a fax she brought from the future saying that Marty had been fired is now erased. Doc says, "It means your future hasn't been written yet, no one's has. Your future is whatever you make it, so make it a good one." Who knows what Jennifer's future held, but in the making of the Back to the Future trilogy, her past as a character in search of an actress was surely a strange one.

Before Claudia Wells, Another Actress Was Cast as Jennifer in 'Back to the Future'

In 2015, Claudia Wells told People all about the casting changes. Wells was the first to be cast as Jennifer, back when Eric Stoltz was set to play Marty. “We even did girlfriend/boyfriend pictures together that were going to go in his wallet." Everything was set, but then a sitcom Wells was attached to went into production, and she had to drop out of Back to the Future. A new Jennifer was then cast in the form of a very familiar face that would become much more well-known later. Before she was Michael Scott's (Steve Carell) boss turned-on-again-off-again-girlfriend Jan Levinson, Melora Hardin landed the role of Jennifer in Back to the Future.

Wells accepted that she had to drop out. After all, who knew that Back to the Future was going to be a colossal hit? “When I had to let it go, I had no qualms. And normally, if I didn’t get a part that I wanted, I would have a lot of anxiety. But for some reason, I just felt a sense of peace. Like, ‘It’s okay – everything’s going to work out.’” Then everything changed again. Eric Stoltz played the role too dark and seriously, so it was decided that he'd be fired. In was brought Zemeckis' and Spielberg's original first choice for Marty, Michael J. Fox. But there was only one problem: Michael J. Fox is short, while Melora Hardin is not. Back to the Future couldn't have the girlfriend character towering over its leading man, so Hardin was let go. By then, Wells was done with her sitcom commitments and got her job back. “I’m 5’3½”, and Michael’s 5’4″, so I got my part back! How cool is that? It’s absolutely fate.”

Claudia Wells did a good job during her limited screen time in Back to the Future. She was great as the supportive girlfriend, which only in turn made Marty more likable for picking someone like her to be with. Yet, when Back to the Future Part II came around, Claudia Wells wasn't there. So what happened? Did she have other film commitments? Was there some sort of fight between her and Zemeckis or Spielberg? No, it was nothing like that. The true reason for Wells' absence was a sad one, but also one that showed Wells' true character as a person.

Why Did Elizabeth Shue Become Jennifer in the Back to the Future Sequels?

Wells was wanted for Back to the Future Part II but said no because her manager was dying of breast cancer. That manager also happened to be her mother. “I just didn’t have it in me to do anything but deal with the stress and the emotions that were going on as a result of my mom being in the process of dying. I just wasn’t in a place to be able to think about my career or the film or anything other than what I was doing with my own life.”

Back to the Future was a pop culture phenomenon, and Jennifer had a bigger role in the sequel, but Claudia Wells walked away from the fame and money to take care of and mourn her dying mother. A new Jennifer had to be cast for the third time, and this time it went to Elisabeth Shue. Shue was an already-known actress, mainly for her lead role in Adventures in Babysitting. Ironically, it was a role that Wells almost got. "Funny enough, Adventures in Babysitting was between her, me and Phoebe Cates." And how did Wells feel about giving up the role of a lifetime, only to watch someone else step in and get more screen time? “When I found out she was cast, I was actually very flattered and honored because I think she’s an amazing actress. I have nothing but respect and praise for her – and I still have not met her.”

Wells stepped away from acting for over two decades. In the last decade, she has done a few smaller roles, including voicing Jennifer in Back to the Future: The Game. Mostly, however, her life has been lived out of the spotlight. Wells opened her own store, a high-end menswear resale shop called Armani Wells, in Studio City, California. For Back to the Future fans, though, she'll always be Jennifer Parker, the love of Marty McFly's life.

Back to the Future Part II is available to rent on Prime Video in the U.S.

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