Toy Story's Spin-off Lightyear Is Almost Here, What to Expect?
- Eve Andrews
- Jun 13, 2022
- 3 min read
Ever since Pete Doctor’s announcement of Lightyear in December 2020, people have been wildly speculating about this unexpected addition to the Toy Story universe. 2010s Toy Story 3 marked the bittersweet end to a perfect trilogy, leaving its loving audience convinced that this was the definitive final chapter. And then Toy Story 4 came along, an addition that received a decidedly mixed reception in contrast to its predecessors - surely there’s nothing more to add after that? But Pixar has again defied the odds with its all-new Toy Story spinoff, Lightyear. And what’s even more surprising is that it actually looks amazing!
As usual, Pixar has been pretty cagey up until recently. Most of what we know about Lightyear has been gleaned from backstage mutterings and what we see in the trailers. But with Lightyear set to hit theatres next week on June 17th, we can’t help but speculate all the more. Hey, we’ve got to do something to kill the time until then!
First off, Lightyear will be directed by Angus Maclane, a Pixar veteran since 1997, responsible for co-directing Finding Dory and the Toy Story short films Small Fry and Toy Story Of Terror!. So, given Maclane’s track record and long-term association with Pixar, we can be assured right from the get-go that Lightyear is in good hands.
Many people were curious when it was announced that the original Buzz Lightyear voice actor, Tim Allen, would not be involved in the project. Instead, Buzz will be voiced by Captain America Actor Chris Evans. At first glance, this seems like a bit of an odd decision given that Buzz Lightyear is such an iconic part of Pixar’s appeal, his distinctive ‘hero’ voice included. But, believe it or not, this was a conscious decision from Angus MacLane. According to ScreenRant, he wanted to recreate Buzz Lightyear in a familiar light but with a few notable differences. Makes sense, seeing as Lightyear’s Buzz and the Buzz we see in Toy Story aren’t actually one and the same. And from what we’ve seen in the trailers so far, Chris Evans appears to be doing a fantastic job at filling the shoes of our beloved Space Ranger.
In terms of plot, we know that we meet Buzz as a humble test pilot and that, during the course of the movie, he will leap from this lowly rookie rank to that of a full-blown Space Ranger. But what will be really interesting is how he makes this leap. From what we can see in the trailer, Buzz will be stranded on an alien planet after a crash landing, having lost over six decades to hyper-sleep; something referenced several times by the delusional Buzz Lightyear action figures in the Toy Story films! And will Buzz Lightyear be having an epic throwdown with the Evil Emperor Zurg? You bet he will! I mean, after seeing him and his amazingly imperious villain vibes in the trailer, I’ll be very disappointed if he doesn’t.
One of the most intriguing questions that fans have asked is simply, what will Buzz be like? When we first met Buzz Lightyear in Toy Story, back in 1995, he was highly regimented and rule-driven before winding down considerably after realising that his status as a Space Ranger was nothing more than a marketing ploy - once the initial shock wore off, that is. Of course, we know that he’ll once again think he’s a real-life Space Ranger because, in this universe, he actually is. But it’ll be interesting to see how Pixar approaches his character in terms of temperament. Will he be the tightly wound moral compass he was during the first leg of Toy Story, or will he be a bit more on the chill side? My guess is that it will hit somewhere between the two.
Are you excited about Lightyear? Do you have any theories on what our beloved Space Ranger will get into? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below!
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