Disney Legend, Tim Allen Breaks Silence on Retirement Talks

Long before actor Tim Allen lent his voice to Toy Story‘s futuristic Pixar character in a space ranger suit, he had fully embraced the character and the role of the man in the big red suit. And years before Disney approached the comedian about embodying Jolly Old St. Nick, Allen was busy taping episodes of ABC’s Home Improvement, a sitcom that ran from 1991 to 1999.

Allen has been performing as a comedian and acting for nearly half a century, leading fans and colleagues to wonder how close he is to retiring, and in recent weeks, he’s made his plans for retirement very clear to those fans.

Tim Allen: A Career a Half-Century in the Making

Tim Allen began performing as a comedian in Detroit, Michigan, in the 1970s before stepping into a career in acting.

Though he’s best known for his roles as Buzz Lightyear in Pixar’s Toy Story franchise, Tim “The Tool Man” Taylor in ABC’s Home Improvement, and Santa Claus himself in Disney’s The Santa Clause franchise, Allen has had several other successful roles over the years–many of which he’s embraced in the later years of his career.

Tim Allen’s Most Recent Roles

In 2019, Allen reprised his role in Pixar’s Toy Story 4, once again lending his voice to space ranger Buzz Lightyear. In 2022, Allen and his Home Improvement co-star Richard Karn joined forces again in More Power, a docu-series for the History Channel.

Later that year, Allen reprised his role as Santa Claus in the first season of the Disney+ series, The Santa Clauses, a popular holiday series with a growing fan base–but one rife with controversy from the first episode.

In February 2023, Allen announced via X, formerly Twitter, that he would be joining the ranks of Star Command once again in Pixar’s fifth Toy Story installment, set to debut in June 2026.

Marvel Actress Kat Dennings to Join Allen in His Newest Project

Actress Kat Dennings has a lengthy Hollywood resume as well, though she’s exactly 33 years Allen’s junior. (The two share the same birthday, June 13, though Allen was born in 1953, and Dennings was born in 1986.)

Kat Dennings’ film and television roles span a wide array of genres, highlighting her versatility as an actress. In recent years, Dennings notably starred in the comedy series Dollface (2019), portraying the endearing and relatable character Jules Wiley. Prior to that, Dennings left a lasting impression as Darcy Lewis in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, debuting in Thor (2011) and reprising her role in Thor: The Dark World (2013) and then in the Disney+ series WandaVision (2021).

Dennings again reprised her Marvel role in Thor: Love and Thunder (2022).

Tim Allen’s Newest Project

Dennings’ newest project is Tim Allen’s newest project as well, as the two are starring in a brand-new sitcom on the Disney-owned ABC television network. The show will mark Allen’s first project on ABC since the sitcom Last Man Standing (2011-2021), which ran for nine seasons–six on ABC and three on FOX.

The new sitcom Shifting Gears is expected to debut sometime in 2024, though no official release date has been announced. It’s likely to be part of ABC’s 2024-2025 season, which begins in the fall.

Dennings will reportedly play the role of Riley, the estranged daughter of Matt, played by Tim Allen, who’s the “stubborn, widowed owner of a classic car restoration shop,” per ABC. The rocky relationship between the two will serve as part of the backdrop to the sitcom, which will also see Riley and her kids moving in with her dad following her divorce–a scenario that sets into motion the “real restoration” between the two.

No Talk of Retirement 

Allen’s upcoming project for ABC, as well as his many successful projects of late, make one thing very clear: he has no plans to retire anytime soon, which is good news for his fans and his co-stars alike.

This post originally appeared on Disney Dining.