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The real reason Chris Evans is playing Buzz Lightyear and not Tim Allen

Why Chris Evans is Buzz Lightyear in the new film rather than Tim Allen.
Why Chris Evans is Buzz Lightyear in the new film rather than Tim Allen.  Pic credit: ©ImageCollect.com/Xavier Collin/ImagePressAgency/Admedia

Many fans were thrilled to learn about Lightyear, a movie about Buzz Lightyear that would bring back nostalgia and good memories. However, actor Tim Allen is somewhat synonymous with the part, so some viewers were confused about why Avengers actor Chris Evans was the star of the new film.

Sources close to the film shared information about the conception of Lightyear, the production process, and the real reason why Chris Evans is Buzz Lightyear. 

Basically, movie executives said they did not want to add to the confusion fans were already experiencing.

Why Chris Evans is Buzz Lightyear rather than Toy Story original Tim Allen

When Lightyear was announced, movie director Angus McLane revealed that Lightyear would be a sidequel. The term sidequel meant that it did not move in a linear fashion, as a prequel or sequel would the terminology used by the director confused fans further, so a producer stepped in to provide clarity.

The producer of Lightyear, Galyn Susman spoke with Yahoo and spelled things out in a way that made sense. Susman explained, “In 1995, Andy received a toy. The toy was from his favorite movie. This is that movie.”

Why didn’t Allen star in Lightyear? Susman felt that it would confuse fans greatly because Tim Allen played the toy, not the movie that the toy inspired in the original Toy Story saga. 

Susman continued, “It would add to the confusion. People were having a hard enough time wrapping their heads around this. So really we needed the toy in the Toy Story universe to be its own thing.”

Next, Susman elucidated the point further and drove things home, “Tim Allen is Buzz Lightyear the toy. Chris Evans is Buzz Lightyear, the superhero from that movie that inspired the toy.”

Lightyear is a Sci-Fi film and different from the Toy Story films 

The director of Lightyear shared another reason why Chris Evans played Lightyear rather than Tim Allen, and it had to do with style. According to McLane, Allen’s comedic nature would not be well-suited for this film because it was science fiction.

McLane explained, “And the tone is a lot different. Tim is hilarious, but this character wouldn’t work as well with him doing the Space Ranger voice. It would not be as emotional. It just changes the tone of the movie. We were going for more of a classic sci-fi film.”

Lightyear arrived in U.S. theaters on Friday, June 17, 2022.

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D
D
2 years ago

Puleeeze, let me get my hip waders out. He’s not woke enough.

Anonymous
Anonymous
2 years ago
Reply to  D

This would make sense if not for the fact that Buzz Lightyear was actually based on astronaut Edwin Eugene Aldrin Jr aka “Buzz Aldrin”

Anonymous
Anonymous
2 years ago

Toys use the voice actors from their movies on a regular basis… every talking Frozen toy we have is the “real” Elsa or Anna or Olaf. Something doesn’t add up with this explanation.

L
L
2 years ago

Toys use the voice actors from the movies on a regular basis… every Frozen toy we have is the “real” Elsa or Anna or Olaf voice. Something about this explanation doesn’t make sense.

Anonymous
Anonymous
2 years ago

Tim is a conservative. He’s not woke enough. That’s why.film did not do well opening weekend. Go woke go broke

Anonymous
Anonymous
2 years ago

Bravo Tim Allen
Would have been disappointed if you were in a ridiculously bad movie such as this

Omar
Omar
2 years ago

This was the worst reason given… It makes less sense to cast another actor instead of Tim Allen. I do agree that his political stance had more to do with this movie than just him being funny verses being a super hero.

John
John
2 years ago

Nope. They just didn’t want the Allen. In Toy Story 2, Tom Hanks voices the “real” Woody from the 50s tv show. Why not keep that consistency here? People aren’t stupid, they would have understood if the trailer explained it.