Claudia Wells, best known for her role as Marty McFly’s girlfriend Jennifer in Back to the Future, has revealed that her Christian faith is the reason why she is still alive, as according to the actress, she can’t find happiness without God.
Wells only played Jennifer in the first film in the series, being replaced by Elisabeth Shue in both Back to the Future Part II and Part III after she decided not to return for the sequels because her mother, who was also her manager, was dying of breast cancer.
In an interview with People Magazine in 2015 conducted in honor of Back to the Future series’ 30th anniversary, the actress said, “Life was very, very difficult and stressful. 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.
She added, “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.”
Now, reflecting on her decision to not reprise the role of Jennifer in a more recent interview with Fox News, Wells has revealed that she was actually reluctant to leave the Back to the Future series, and her mother actually wanted her to remain in the role.
“I know she wanted me to continue doing the part and didn’t agree with my decision. But I was just not in a place emotionally where I could handle any more than what I was already handling,” said Wells. “I wanted my mother to be supported and cared for. I left acting altogether, but I knew I would come back. I never felt it was over. I’m still waiting to come back. I still don’t feel like it’s over.”
Wells then went on to explain that her Christian faith has made it possible for her to cope during the darker times in her life, stating that “God carried me through a lot of it.”
“It’s made all the difference in the world,” Wells added. “I did a TV series starring Dean Jones when I was 15. And he used to talk to me about God, the Holy Spirit and Jesus being his savior all through the filming of the show.”
She continued, “And then he and his wife took my mom and me to church every Sunday… I then went through so many different things in my life when my mom was dying of cancer. I believe God carried me through a lot of it.”
“I lived a lot of experiences I wouldn’t want people to go through but God brought me out of them all. I feel like all of it was for a purpose so that one day, I can help others going through tough times,” explained the actress. “But God is my everything. I can’t find happiness or peace without him. He is really, truly my only source of comfort and joy. Anytime I’ve turned my back to that, even during the darkest of times, I’ve lost that peace and joy.”
She further asserted, “[My faith is] the reason I’m alive, without a shadow of a doubt. And because of God, I know that my mother is in heaven. She is her best self and she’s happy. She is out of pain and sadness. My church family is my family.”
Turning to her life as the owner of a men’s resale store called Armani Wells, which she has been running for three decades now, Wells noted that she treats all of her clients with the “dignity that they deserve.”
“I tell all my customers and clients, ‘This is God’s store and I have the privilege of working here.’ The store has been completely fulfilling. I get to show men the dignity that they deserve. I want my customers to feel their very best and experience the quality of a fine suit that they can wear forever,” she explained.
When asked whether she would be open to the idea of starring in another Back to the Future film, Wells didn’t hesitate to say that she’s all for it.
“I would not only consider it, but I’d raise my hand and say ‘Pretty please?’” replied Wells, chuckling. “The answer is absolutely… I feel like I’m at a point in my life where I can play so many different roles that I didn’t have the firsthand knowledge to take on when I was 18, 19. I really do believe it’s still in my future.”
While it may be somewhat discouraging to hear, at least for some fans of the series out there, a fourth Back to the Future film is highly unlikely, however.
Last year, Back to the Future co-writer Bob Gale clearly stated that another film in the series will never be made, telling Collider that even the idea of a sequel would never be considered because “All you’re gonna do is beg comparisons to the originals, and you’re not going to match up.”
“And we’ve seen this repeatedly with sequels that go back to the well after many, many years, and they go ‘Ah, well, The Phantom Menace, maybe my life would have been better if I hadn’t seen it.’ There are a lot of extra sequels like that. We didn’t want to be those guys who did a movie that was basically a moneygrab,” he explained.
Gale continued, “Universal says to us, ‘You’d guys would make a whole lot of money,’ but we’re like, ‘Well, we’ve already made a whole lot of money with these movies, and we like them just the way they are. And as proud parents, we’re not going to sell our kids into prostitution.’”
When specifically addressing the rights to the Back to the Future film series, Gale noted that “We have an understanding with Spielberg and Amblin that there would never be another Back to the Future movie without our blessing or being involved. So it’s not going to happen.”
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