I always find it interesting when I hear about films being recast. It helps you look on the film in a different light and imagine what could have been. One of the biggest recasts of all time has to be Eric Stoltz as Marty McFly in "Back to the Future". They had in fact filmed a whopping five weeks with Stoltz in the lead role which I would assume at the time would mean they had most of the film in the can. When looking back at the footage they had, Robert Zemeckis ( the director of the film) and Stephen Spielberg (the producer) both found themselves in a panic; something wasn't quite right. They realised that they had either miscast, or misdirected Stoltz in the lead role. The film had a much more serious tone than they had intended and they decided to scrap what they had done, recast Michael J. Fox in the lead role, and re-shoot the entire film.
For a long time fans wanted to see the Stoltz footage and finally, with the anniverssary edition of "Back to the Future" being released we will. Well parts of it anyway. Here is a taster:
I feel sorry for Stoltz as he is a very good actor and it must have been heart breaking to be essentially fired and then for the film to become iconic. You cannot argue with Michael J. Fox in the lead role though, he was amazing. I don't know how much footage they have, but if they had enough it would be awesome to see them do what Richard Donner did with "Superman II" and make an alternative cut of the movie with Stoltz. I doubt this will ever happen though.
Another recast that always interested me was for "Raiders of the Lost Ark". We all know Harrison Ford as the whip wielding adventurer, but Tom Selleck was in fact offered the role first. His screen test actually looks promising and while I'd never replace Harrison, I think we would still have had an iconic character with Selleck in the role.
Unfortunately for Selleck he had a successful television at the show called Magnum P.I. and he was unable to shoot "Raiders" because of a scheduling conflict, and the rest as they say is history.
Interestingly in that video we also see Sean Young ( Blade Runner, Dune, Ace Ventura etc.) playing Marion, a role later filled by Karen Allen. Young was recast because Karen Allen was a better fit with Harrison Ford; however, this was not the only time Young would miss out on an iconic role. Young had been cast in Time Burton's wonderful 1989 adaptation of Bob Cane's "Batman". Young was to play Bruce Wayne's love interest, Vicky Vale. Only a week before shooting tragedy struck as Young was injured in a horse riding accident and thus had to be recast. Kim Basinger stepped in at the last minute and became a world wide star. As they say "some girls have all the luck". Sean Young has still had an admirable career but she has mentioned frequently that "Batman" could have made her a star. Alas for Young, it wasn't to be.
Back to George Lucas and we can see an interesting casting choice in this audition clip:
Kurt Russell no doubt would have made a brilliant Han Solo ( Just watch him as a Snake Plisken) but again, Ford was wonderful in the role and was given the nod over him.
One last casting issue I think many of us would love to see. Viggo Mortensen made the role of Aragon in Peter Jackson's "Lord of the Rings" adaptation, but there was footage filmed with Stuart Townsend in the role. Apparently after the first week Jackson realised he had cast the role far too young and had to replace Townsend, which must have been a bitter pill to swallow. I think Jackson was completely right, but I'd love to see the footage regardless, although Jackson says we never will.
So, any one out there with some interesting recasts from the past?
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