tim-allen-set-to-be-replaced-by-chris-evans-as-voice-of-toy-storys-buzz-lightyear

Tim Allen Set to Be Replaced by Chris Evans as Voice of ‘Toy Story’s’ Buzz Lightyear

In what will surely come as a shock to Tim Allen fans, Disney & Pixar are set to replace his iconic voice with Chris Evan’s for their upcoming Buzz Lightyear film.

Disney is turning the entertainment world upside down with their announcements this week. Revealing everything from their upcoming Disney Animation slate to half-a-dozen new live-action shows for their Disney+ streaming platform, the pop culture leviathan hasn’t let the COVID-19 pandemic slow them down in any capacity.

Today, however, longtime Disney fans got a huge shock when their latest Toy Story project was announced. A prequel to the original Toy Story simply titled Lightyear, the film will center on Buzz Lightyear – the “actual” human inspiration for the toy – and his exploits as a “real life” space ranger. Taking to Twitter, Disney released a short clip with a striking logo for Lightyear… all before announcing Chris Evans to star.

Wait, what?

While Tim Allen has voiced the boisterous plastic astronaut for over 25 years now, the Last Man Standing star’s name is – so far – not attached to the project in any form. While Evans is not the first actor to take over the role from Allen (Patrick Warburton voiced him for the Star Command animated series), he will be the first to do so for a Pixar film.

Tim Allen is Buzz Lightyear No More

The thought of a Buzz Lightyear film without Allen is jarring. Nevertheless, the CGI-animation project is set to focus on Buzz as a “human being”, rather than a toy. This does, in essence, have Chris Evans voicing a different version of the character than Tim Allen did.

As such, Pixar is announcing the project on Twitter with no mention of Tim Allen in sight. Instead, Evans is tagged in their reveal – and all parties seem absolutely thrilled with the development. “Blasting into theaters June 17, 2022, Lightyear is the definitive story of the original Buzz Lightyear,” their post confirms. “Voiced by @ChrisEvans, get ready to go to “infinity and beyond” with Lightyear.”

Allen has yet to comment on the development. He does, however, still feature Buzz Lightyear as one of the characters mentioned in his Twitter bio, only behind Santa.

“Santa? Buzz Lightyear? The Tool Man? Mike Baxter? Hey, I’m still that wisecracking kid from the Midwest, looking for answers to life’s big questions,” his Twitter reads.

Chris Evans “Doesn’t Even Have the Words”

https://twitter.com/ChrisEvans/status/1337196649903435776

Additionally, Disney’s Captain America actor Chris Evans seems to be aware of the controversy. The former leader of their Marvel Cinematic Universe took to Twitter to quickly clarify that his version of Buzz would, in fact, be different from Allen’s.

“And just to be clear, this isn’t Buzz Lightyear the toy,” Evans tweets. “This is the origin story of the human Buzz Lightyear that the toy is based on.”

Perhaps Tim Allen will receive a cameo voicing the toy version of his beloved character within Lightyear. The actor’s relationship has been rocky on rocky ground with Disney since ABC cancelled Last Man Standing in 2017, though. While the network and Allen stated at the time that the decision had nothing to do with their differing political views, fans weren’t so sure. Since then, Fox has given the show new life, and Allen continues to film their ninth and final season.

[H/T Pixar]