“Back to the Future II” is set in the distant future of 2015. Things didn’t exactly match up to what the filmmakers had envisioned, but they probably don’t care. There’s no hoverboard, and there’s no way the “Jaws” franchise got nineteen movies.
The huge hologram that sprang out of the movie theater was inspired by the incredible number of sequels “Jaws” spawned in such a short time – four had already come out by the time of “Back to the Future Part II”. After that, however, the series pretty much tanked, and not even Steven Spielberg’s son (“Max” in the movie) is interested in resurrecting it.
They Thought it Would Flop
It took far too long for the first film to be made, and even then it wasn't smooth sailing. The script floated around Hollywood for years, a lot of executives wanted to meddle even after Universal Studios picked it up.
Stoltz was replaced with Fox, and even after Fox signed on, he was running on fumes filming both this and the show "Family Ties", leading to a few breakdowns and nightmares for Fox. It made his acting in Back to the Future a little more lifelike, but it was still a rough time.
No Sequel Intended
Every version of the movie these days will have the bright, colorful “To Be Continued” card at the end of the film as Doc Brown, Marty, and Jennifer take off.
This wasn't present in the first cut of the film, since the filmmakers had no intention of continuing the series, and the “cliffhanger” ending was made as a joke. Yet the film went on to break records and garner immense praise, and so a sequel appeared anyway. The “To Be Continued” card was hurriedly added to the home video release in order to advertise "Back to the Future Part II".
Are You Sure These are Antiques?
When Marty lands in 2015, to say it's a culture shock is a little bit of an understatement. He wanders past an antique store, where he finds the sports almanac, and the store is jam-packed full of things from his era – a 1984 Macintosh computer, NES games, and even a Roger Rabbit doll.
Interestingly "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?" was the film Zemeckis directed right after "Back to the Future". There are plenty of other items in the antique shop (including a copy of the "Jaws" book) which were commonplace in the 1980s, and even now you might have some of it still in use.
A Wave of Nostalgia
When Marty wanders into the 2015-version of Lou's Diner, he finds it full of styles and pop culture from the eighties. Doc Brown even calls it “one of those nostalgia places.” Michael Jackson is playing, popular television shows from the eighties cover a wall, etc..
There's even a reference to what Lou's Diner used to be in the eighties version of Hill Valley since in the 2015 version there's an aerobic exercise machine stuck in the corner. In the first film, Marty swings past the location as it's full of women following the aerobic craze of the eighties.