Tom Hanks has shared his confusion over why his Toy Story co-star Tim Allen wasn't brought back for the Lightyear spinoff movie.
The two starred in several features and TV specials as Woody and Buzz Lightyear, but this latest film attempts to separate Buzz from the Toy Story franchise.
Pixar's concept for Lightyear is that it would be the in-universe movie that made Andy love Buzz as a child, so it's not technically set within the Toy Story continuity.
The publicly didn't necessarily make it abundantly clear why Chris Evans was voicing Buzz rather than Allen, leading to confusion even from Toy Story legend Hanks – who has been out promoting the Elvis biopic.
Related: Lightyear director explains why they changed Zurg twist from Toy Story 2
"I wanted to go head-to-head with Tim Allen and they didn't let Tim Allen do it. I don't understand that," Hanks admitted to CinemaBlend.
What to Read Next
When the backstory about Evans was explained, Hanks didn't quite seem convinced: "Just as long as people go back into the motion picture theatre. I wanna go back to a theatre with a bunch of strangers and leave with something in common.
"That's what I want to do. And, going to see a movie with [Buzz], I'm looking forward to that."
Related: Lightyear director clears up Sox plot hole
It doesn't look like movie-goers flocked to see Lightyear in cinemas, as the film is still off $10 million from making back its $200 million budget for Disney and Pixar.
Tim Allen recently shared his own candid thoughts on the film while speaking to Extra, as he suggested the movie doesn't have a strong connection to the Buzz Lightyear that people love.
"It's just a whole new team [at Disney and Pixar] that really have nothing to do with the first movies. There's really no Toy Story's Buzz without Woody," he insisted.
Lightyear is out now in UK and US cinemas.
![Lightyear [DVD]](https://hips.hearstapps.com/vader-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/1659454040-51fkFy9on0L._SL500_.jpg?crop=1xw:1xh;center,top&resize=980:* "Lightyear [DVD]")
![The Complete Toy Story Collection: Toy Story / Toy Story 2 / Toy Story 3 [Blu-ray]](https://hips.hearstapps.com/vader-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/1556619274-1542275770-toy-story-4.jpg?crop=1xw:1xh;center,top&resize=980:* "The Complete Toy Story Collection: Toy Story / Toy Story 2 / Toy Story 3 [Blu-ray]")
Disney The Complete Toy Story Collection: Toy Story / Toy Story 2 / Toy Story 3 [Blu-ray]
Couture Kingdom x Toy Story white gold-plated Woody boot necklace
Justin is a freelance entertainment journalist and writer. He first joined Digital Spy as a freelance entertainment reporter in 2010 and also worked as a sub-editor for the brand, serving as Night News Editor from 2016 to 2024. Over more than a decade, Justin has covered numerous major entertainment events from the US and has interviewed a wide-ranging group of public figures, from comedian Steve Coogan to icons from the Star Trek universe, cast members from the Marvel Cinematic Universe and reality stars from numerous Real Housewives cities and the Below Deck franchise. Justin has also been on the ground to cover major pop culture events like the Star Wars Celebration and the D23 Expo. He's written for titles across the Hearst network, plus the likes of CBR and Us Weekly.
