Back to the Future Part II actors in a role. "Back to the Future Part II" was also a ground-breaking project for effects studio Industrial Light & Magic (ILM): 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. On October 26, 1985, Dr. Emmett Brown arrives in the DeLorean time machine and persuades
Back to the Future show's success. With co-star Meredith Baxter on maternity leave, he refused to allow Fox time off to work on a film. "Back to the Future" was originally scheduled for a May 1985 release and it was late 1984 when it was learned that Fox would be unable to star in the film. Zemeckis' next two choices were C. Thomas Howell and Eric Stoltz. Stoltz impressed the producers enough with his earlier portrayal of Roy L. Dennis in "Mask" (which had yet to be released) that they selected him to play Marty McFly. Because of the difficult casting process, the start