The original ideas for Back To The Future Part II’s script had the potential to fix what many critics considered to be the sequel’s biggest problem. The second installment in one of the consistently best movie trilogies from start to finish, Back To The Future Part II depicts Marty McFly and Doc Brown traveling to the year 2015, where their DeLorean time machine is stolen by their nemesis, Biff Tannen. Upon discovering that Tannen plans to cause trouble with the help of a stolen sports almanac, Marty and Doc must return to the year 1955 to save the future.
While now considered one of the best sequels ever made, reviews for Back To The Future Part II were significantly mixed compared to the first movie; the sequel’s score on Rotten Tomatoes sits at 64%, lower than the original’s 90%. Part II received criticism for its darker themes compared to the original and screenplay. The “Making the Trilogy” feature on the DVD release of Back To The Future Part II revealed that the original script had a different plan for the story, which could have changed the sequel’s outcome with critics.
Back To The Future Part II’s 1960s Setting Would Have Separated It From The First Movie
The Script Planned For Marty To Travel To The 1960s, Rather Than Return To 1955
The sequel sees Old Biff Tannen giving the stolen sports almanac to his younger self on the night of the school dance in 1955, one of the Back to the Future franchise’s most iconic scenes. Marty must retrieve the almanac while avoiding interrupting his alternate self, saving his parents’ relationship. One of the biggest criticisms that Part II received was its time-travel plot essentially rehashing events from the first movie. Director, Robert Zemeckis revealed in the “Making Of” documentary that the original script planned a different time setting, with Young Biff receiving the almanac in the 1960s, rather than 1955.
Zemeckis revealed that his original draft of Part II‘s script included segments with Marty finding his mother, Lorraine, as “a flower child, and she’s protesting the war in Vietnam,” and landing himself in jail. Zemeckis stated that co-writer, Bob Gale read the draft and said that while he felt it was okay, he felt the sequel could work better if the DeLorean would go right back into the original’s events, resulting in the script being rewritten. The sequel’s original 1960s setting would have offered a different timeline for audiences and separated the story from the events of the first movie.
Why Back To The Future Part II Revisiting 1955 Was The Right Choice
Revisiting 1955 In The Sequel Allowed A New Perspective On The Story
In the “Making Of” DVD feature of Back To The Future Part II, Robert Zemeckis revealed that Bob Gale suggested Part II could “do something that nobody’s ever done before” and “look at things from a different perspective,” resulting in the sequel revisiting 1955. The year 1955 was a significant aspect of the Back To The Future timelines as it was the year Marty’s parents got together and Doc began time travel. The decision to travel back to 1955 allowed the exploration of alternate timelines and characters by revisiting the events of the first movie.
Revisiting 1955 also allowed the franchise to finish exploring the darker aspects of time travel depicted in Part II and set the stage for the third movie’s plot of traveling to 1885. Many critics believed that Back to the Future 2‘s frightening alternate universe made the franchise’s time travel story too dark for enjoyment, which resulted in the more light-hearted plot used in the third installment. While the decision to have Back To The Future Part II revisit 1955 was criticized upon its initial release, it ultimately proved to be the right choice for the trilogy’s success.
