Claim: Back to the Future II is a sequel.

Back to the Future Part II is a 1989 American science-fiction adventure comedy film directed by Robert Zemeckis and written by Bob Gale . It is the sequel to the 1985 film Back to the Future and the second installment in the Back to the Future trilogy . The film stars Michael J. Fox , Christopher Lloyd , Thomas F. Wilson , and Lea Thompson and continues immediately following the original film . After repairing the damage to history done by his previous time travel adventures , Marty McFly -LRB- Fox -RRB- and his friend Dr. Emmett `` Doc '' Brown -LRB- Lloyd -RRB- travel to 2015 to prevent McFly 's future son from ending up imprisoned . However , their presence allows Biff Tannen -LRB- Wilson -RRB- to steal Doc 's DeLorean time machine and travel to 1955 , where he alters history by making his younger self wealthy .   The film was produced on a $ 40-million budget and was filmed back-to-back with its sequel , Part III . Filming began in February 1989 after two years were spent building the sets and writing the scripts . Two actors from the first film , Crispin Glover and Claudia Wells , did not return for the final two . While Elisabeth Shue was recast in the role of Wells ' character , Jennifer , Glover 's character , George McFly , was not only minimized in the plot , but also was obscured and recreated with another actor . Glover successfully sued both Zemeckis and Gale , changing how producers can deal with the departure and replacement of actors in a role . Back to the Future Part II was also a ground-breaking project for effects studio Industrial Light & Magic -LRB- ILM -RRB- : In addition to digital compositing , ILM used the VistaGlide motion control camera system , which allowed an actor to portray multiple characters simultaneously on-screen without sacrificing camera movement .   Back to the Future Part II was released by Universal Pictures on November 22 , 1989 . The film received mixed reviews from critics and grossed over $ 331 million worldwide , making it the third-highest-grossing film of 1989 .