Michael J. Fox Finally Met The Original Marty McFly 40 Years After Back To The Future Release

It’s been 40 years since the Back to the Future trilogy was released, and Michael J. Fox reveals he has finally met with the original Marty McFly.

In Fox’s new book, Future Boy, he detailed the moment he met actor Eric Stoltz, who was originally meant to play Marty McFly in the 1985 sci-fi comedy. In an interview with People, Fox discusses his new book and how the meeting went:

“It was great. It was a great conversation. It was just two guys talking, which is what I thought it would be. There’s all this mythology built up about this thing that happened. Was it backstabbing? Was there people conniving and being evil?

No, it just was the thing that happened. We had different experiences with the same situation, and you absorb it and you move on.”

Back to the Future is a classic ’80s franchise that has three movies starring Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd. Each film followed Marty and Doc as they hilariously mess with time as they travel in a DeLorean. Marty and Doc must fix whatever time hole they’ve created before they cease to exist. All three movies were directed by Robert Zemeckis.

Many actors pursued the role of McFly, including Ben Stiller. Fox caught the eye of producers while he was filming the sitcom Family Ties. Unfortunately, Fox couldn’t join the movie due to scheduling conflicts, and Stoltz stepped in. However, on January 10, 1985, Stoltz was fired from Back to the Future after a month of filming.

Back to the Future star Lea Thompson details filming with Stoltz during the first month in author Caseen Gaines’ book We Don’t Need Roads: The Making of the Back to the Future Trilogy. “Eric had such an intensity. He saw drama in things. He wasn’t really a comedian,” Thompson shared. Lloyd also agreed by adding he was “not bringing that element of comedy.”

Doc Brown lifts his goggles to talk to Marty and Jennifer at the end of Back to the Future

Fox ended up taking over the role, and after the announcement, fans began to suspect some drama or espionage had occurred. Cast and crew weren’t immediately aware, but there were signs leading up to the role takeover while filming.

In Fox’s memoir, he details that the two had met before the Back to the Future role swap. The actor states he met Stoltz during an audition for Franc Roddam’s The Lords of Discipline. However, neither actor ended up being cast. Stoltz is known for his roles in Mask (1985), The ʙuттerfly Effect (2004), and Pulp Fiction (1994).

Fox has praised Stoltz and said, “I’m a big fan of his. He’s really great. And particularly I’m a big Tarantino fan — Pulp Fiction was amazing.” The two actors are now friends, and Fox even stated that he’s learned a lot from Stoltz.