Tom Hanks Backs Tim Allen in ‘Lightyear’ Casting Debate

The early praise for Disney/Pixar’s feature film Lightyear has faded away to criticisms, and a lackluster box office performance as a consensus begins to form that the supposed origin story of everybody’s favorite Space Ranger, Buzz Lightyear, missed the mark.

One of the chief complaints has been Pixar’s decision to recast the voice of the “real” Buzz Lightyear from Toy Story veteran and co-founder of the character, Tim Allen, with Marvel star Chris Evans (Captain America). And Allen’s co-star on all four Toy Story films, Tom Hanks, was confused and disappointed Disney chose not to go with the original.

Hanks, who recently worked on the latest Elvis biopic, spoke with Cinemablend and was asked what he thought about his movie being shown right next to a Buzz Lightyear film.

“How about that?” Hanks said. “Actually, I wanted to go head-to-head with Tim Allen, and then they didn’t let Tim Allen do it. I don’t understand that.”

Click here to see the clip on Instagram.

Allen himself recently spoke on the film, sharing the news that none of the creative leads for Lightyear came with significant experience from the Toy Story Franchise. 

“There’s really no Toy Story’s Buzz without Woody,” he said, adding that there should have been a more obvious similarity between Buzz Lightyear, the “actor,” and the toy found in Andy’s Room. “I wish there was a better connection.”

Related: Chris Evans Talks About His ‘Intimidating’ Role in ‘Lightyear’

Disney/Pixar’s Lightyear was supposed to be Andy’s favorite movie back in the early ’90s, and what inspired his mom to get him the action figure for that fateful birthday almost 30 years ago. It is playing in theaters now, and it is unclear when Disney Fanatics can expect to find it on Disney+.

We at Disney Fanatic will continue to update our readers on Disney Movie news and stories as more developments come to light.