I have to be honest, when I first heard that Pixar was making a Toy Story spinoff movie all about the origins of Buzz Lightyear, I was pretty skeptical. Sure, we live in the age of infinite remakes and spinoffs and tie-ins, and Disney has always been the first to go for a cash grab, but Toy Story is an important series. Was nothing sacred?
But the first trailer for Disney and Pixar’s upcoming movie Lightyear just dropped…and it actually looks pretty good. The story behind this one is also kind of fascinating, and now that we’ve gotten to see some footage of the movie, we’re also getting new information about what exactly it is — and isn’t.
First, the trailer, in all it’s space adventure-y glory:
Lightyear trailer previews space battles and robot cats
“Buzz’s world was always something I was excited about,” director Angus MacLane said in a statement accompanying the trailer’s release. “In Toy Story, there seemed to be this incredible backstory to him being a Space Ranger that’s only touched upon, and I always wanted to explore that world further. So my Lightyear pitch was, ‘What was the movie that Andy saw that made him want a Buzz Lightyear toy?’ I wanted to see that movie. And now I’m lucky enough to get to make it.”
On the surface, this is a pretty cool premise. Lightyear isn’t really a Toy Story prequel or sequel: it’s a movie inspired by the character, but is still very much its own thing. Per Syfy Wire, MacLane explained that Lightyear will obviously have some nods to Toy Story, but will be very different stylistically. “It’s meant to be the ultimate love letter for the period of sci-fi between 1977 and 1987. But it’s also heavily influenced by the cinematography of the 1970s and the French New Wave,” he said.
MacLane had been an animator at Pixar for decades, and was one of the people who worked on the original Toy Story films. In fact, he had a hand in designing both Buzz Lightyear and the character’s arch nemesis Zurg, who appeared in Toy Story 2. “There were only a handful of things mentioned in the [Toy Story] films,” he said. “The wings are carbonic alloy, he’s got a laser arm, Zurg is the bad guy… not a ton of stuff. We had to decide what to take from the echoes of that, and apply it here.”
In addition to the trailer, the supporting cast of the film was also unveiled. Buzz Lightyear himself is voiced by Chris Evans, aka Captain America from Marvel. The rest of the cast includes Keke Palmer, Dale Soules, Taika Waititi, Peter Sohn, Uzo Aduba, James Brolin, Mary McDonald-Lewis, Efren Ramirez and Isiah Whitlock Jr.
“The cast for Lightyear is truly a dream team,” said MacLane. “Each of the performers immediately inhabited their character, which gave us the opportunity to play a bit during recording sessions. This resulted in a level of specificity that elevated the material and brought additional depth to the characters’ relationships. It has been a privilege to work with such a talented and generous cast.”
Lightyear is due out on June 17, 2022. There’s been no word yet on whether this will be a theatrical release or if it will be coming to Disney+, so we’ll be keeping our eye out.
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