How Lightyear is linked to Toy Story, explained

gamesradar.com:

Lightyear, the movie all about Buzz, is a Toy Story spin-off that isn't quite a spin-off. It's a sci-fi adventure that sees the Space Ranger stranded on a distant, hostile planet, with only a few new recruits and an adorable robot cat named Sox to help him get back home. Oh, and there's the ominous presence of Zurg that might cause some problems…

But how exactly is Lightyear connected to Toy Story? It can be quite confusing, considering the film makes no reference to Woody and co., and we're clearly watching a film about a human being rather than a plastic toy. We explain all you need to know about where the film fits into the Toy Story universe right here.

Let's clear up which version of Buzz Lightyear is in the movie. This isn't an in-universe real human being – it's not the origin story of the astronaut that the Buzz toy line is based on, as a tweet from Chris Evans initially seemed to suggest. Instead, Lightyear is the in-universe movie that inspired the Buzz Lightyear toy line. Still with us?

As the text at the beginning of the movie explains, Toy Story's Andy received a Buzz Lightyear action figure for his birthday back in 1995 (that's the year the first Toy Story came out). The action figure was based on his favorite movie – and Lightyear is that film. Essentially, Buzz in Lightyear is a fictional character, who was then turned into the toy we know and love from Toy Story. 

That also explains why a different actor voices Buzz. Tim Allen has not returned to reprise his role as the Space Ranger, with Evans stepping in instead. 

"Tim really is the embodiment of the toy Buzz, and this isn't the toy world, so it really doesn't make sense," producer Galyn Susman told The Hollywood Reporter (opens in new tab) of the