Why does Eric Stoltz star in ‘Back to the Future’ in ‘The Flash?’

The Flash, despite being a DC movie from the old guard era, actually hit the humor mark with refreshing consistency, as any film starring the crimson speedster should. But, no moment earned its chuckles more than the melodrama that followed Barry Allen’s realization that he butchered the timeline.

Although, it wasn’t just the way the scene was sold, but rather the context in which it was delivered; after spending a fair chunk of time denying that his temporal leap caused any problems, Barry’s realization that this universe’s version of Back to the Future starred Eric Stoltz instead of Michael J. Fox quickly became the unlikely tipping point for the hero’s acceptance that he made a very big mistake.

But why Eric Stoltz specifically? Was it just a random name from that era that the film’s scribes tossed in there? Well, not exactly; in fact, anyone familiar with the history of Robert Zemeckis‘ influential sci-fi film may have appreciated the gag much more deeply than others.

Why did Eric Stoltz play Marty McFly in the alternate timeline in The Flash?

At the time that the real-world Back to the Future began filming back in 1984, Zemeckis knew he wanted Fox for the role, but initially settled for Stoltz when he factored in the former’s then-commitment to the sitcom Family Ties. It was all but one month into production when Zemeckis decided that Marty McFly would never work if Fox wasn’t the one wearing that vest, and eventually roped Fox into the starring role of Back to the Future, sharing him with the set of Family Ties.

But in The Flash‘s bastardized timeline, it looks like Zemeckis bit the bullet and kept Stoltz in the role, and Barry’s existential reaction to this revelation is the stuff of perfection; not only is it the only correct reaction, but it foreshadows the incoming dire straits in a way that only a hero’s tongue-in-cheek mortal essence could.

The Flash is now playing in theaters.