Lightyear Tim Allen Recasting Decision Explained By Producer
The decision to recast Tim Allen as the voice of Buzz Lightyear in Pixar's upcoming Lightyear has been explained by the film's producer. Lightyear is Pixar Animation Studio's 26th film and is a spin-off of the popular Toy Story franchise. It tells the origin story of the space ranger who inspired the Buzz Lightyear toy line and features a time-traveling adventure. The film is set to be released in theaters on June 17, almost 27 years after the release of the first Toy Story.
When the project was first announced at Disney's Investor Call in 2020, one of the biggest surprises was that Chris Evans would voice Buzz Lightyear. Allen voiced Buzz in the original Toy Story film back in 1995 and reprised his role in all three sequels. While this is not the first time someone other than Allen has voiced Buzz, as Patrick Warburton took on the character in the animated series Buzz Lightyear of Star Command, Allen's absence from a feature film was notable for many as the actor is so linked to the character.
Related: Lightyear Suggests Toy Story Will Break A Massive Box Office Record
In an interview withTHR, Lightyear producer Galyn Susman says there never were plans to bring back Allen in any capacity for the film. That is due to the story that Lightyear is trying to tell, which doesn't quite fit Allen's iteration of the character. Susman says:
“Tim really is the embodiment of the toy Buzz, and this isn’t the toy world, so it really doesn’t make sense. There’s not really a role. It would just cause more confusion for audiences instead of helping them understand the movie we’re trying to tell.”
It appears the decision to recast Allen as Buzz has not hurt the film, as Lightyear's first reactions are extremely positive. Disney and Pixar
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