Mars Attacks! is certainly one of director Tim Burton’s most bizarre movies, which is really saying something. Let’s revisit the quirky sci-fi film with these 10 behind-the-scenes facts!
4Johnny Depp turn down a role in the film
There are so many well-known celebrities starring in Mars Attacks! that it’s hard to keep track of them all. Back to the Future star Michael J. Fox managed to nab a role in the film as Jason Stone, a reporter covering the Martian invasion. It’s a humorous role for Fox and he excels in it well, delivering some entertaining dialogue as the character. But although it turned out to be a good casting choice, Fox wasn’t the first person Burton had in mind for the part.
Frequent collaborator Johnny Depp was initially offered the role of Jason Stone, turning it down for unspecified reasons. This makes one of the very few times the actor passed on a Burton movie, as Depp has appeared in so many of his other films. Everything worked out well enough in the end for the sake of the movie, but Depp would have certainly fit right in with the film had he accepted the part.
Related Article: Strange & Unusual: Ranking Tim Burton’s Movies
