Tim Allen has finally weighed in on Pixar’s Lightyear, and he’s not exactly thrilled.
The movie acts as a biopic within the Toy Story world for the ‘real-life’ Buzz Lightyear, which would go on to inspire the toy that Andy gets gifted in the first Toy Story film. Allen famously provided the voice for the character for all four movies in the franchise, but he was replaced by Chris Evans in the standalone Pixar film directed by Toy Story 2 and 3 animator Angus Maclane.
“The short answer is I’ve stayed out of this because it has nothing to do [with my character],” Allen explained. “This is a whole new team that really had nothing to do with the first movies.”
A separate team also worked on the TV show spin-off Buzz Lightyear of Star Command, in which actor Patrick Warburton took over for Allen.
According to Variety (opens in new tab), he went on to say that he had spoken with Pixar in the past about a solo Buzz Lightyear movie. Allen voiced Buzz in the first spin-off movie, the direct-to-video Buzz Lightyear of Star Command: The Adventure Begins, though actor Patrick Warburton took over for Allen that same year in the Buzz Lightyear of Star Command animated series.
“It’s a wonderful story,” Allen said of Maclane’s film. “It just doesn’t seem to have any connection to the toy, and it’s a little…I don’t know. It just has no relationship to Buzz. It’s just no connection. I wish there was a better connection to this.”
Lightyear only grossed $51 million during its opening weekend, a low start for a Pixar film. Toy Story 3 earned more than $110 million when it opened in 2010. For more, check out our round-up of the most exciting upcoming movies in 2022 and beyond.