![]() |
"Even miracles take a little time."
Thank you and have a magical day! |
- “Every hero has a beginning”
- ―Tagline
Lightyear is an upcoming American computer-animated science-fiction action film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and Walt Disney Pictures. It is a spin-off of the Toy Story franchise, serving as an origin story for the fictional test pilot/astronaut who the Buzz Lightyear toy featured in the previous films was based on, presented as a film within a film the characters in Toy Story would watch.
It will be Pixar's 26th animated feature, and is scheduled to be theatrically released on June 17, 2022, in RealD 3D, Dolby Cinema and IMAX formats.[2]
Synopsis
The definitive origin story of Buzz Lightyear, the hero who inspired the toy, Lightyear follows the legendary Space Ranger after he is marooned on a hostile planet 4.2 million light-years from Earth alongside his commander and their crew. As Buzz tries to find a way back home through space and time, he is joined by a group of ambitious recruits and his charming robot companion cat, Sox. Complicating matters and threatening the mission is the arrival of Zurg, an imposing presence with an army of ruthless robots and a mysterious agenda.[3]
Cast
- Chris Evans as Buzz Lightyear
- James Brolin as Zurg[4]
- Uzo Aduba as Alisha Hawthorne[4]
- Keke Palmer as Izzy Hawthorne[4]
- Keira Hairston as Young Izzy[4]
- Isiah Whitlock Jr. as Commander Burnside[4]
- Taika Waititi as Mo Morrison[4]
- Dale Soules as Darby Steel[4]
- Efren Ramirez as Airman Diaz[4]
- Peter Sohn as Sox[4]
- Mary McDonald-Lewis as I.V.A.N.[4]
- Anthony Armanino as Special Agent Chuck Bailey IV
- Tim Peake as Mission Control
Production
Development
After finishing work on Finding Dory, Angus MacLane was allowed to pitch the idea of making a Buzz Lightyear film, based on the idea over what movie Andy Davis would have seen in the original Toy Story to get interested in a Buzz Lightyear action figure. As a science fiction fan himself, MacLane had felt attracted to the Lightyear character since he started working at Pixar, feeling that the film's story was very "personal" for him. An aspect present in the Toy Story films that Lightyear explores is Buzz's disagreement over the nature of reality, which, coupled with his heroic ideals, made an amalgam of sci-fi clichés that MacLane intended to make more than just a punchline.
In February 2019, Tim Allen expressed interest in doing another film as he "did not see any reason why they would not do it". On The Ellen DeGeneres Show that May, Tom Hanks said that Toy Story 4 would be the final installment in the franchise, but producer Mark Nielsen disclosed a possibility of a fifth film, as Pixar was not ruling out that possibility.
In December 2020 at a Disney Investor Day meeting, Lightyear was announced as a spin-off film depicting the in-universe origin of the human Buzz Lightyear, with Chris Evans providing the character's voice.
It was revealed in March 2022 that a scene featuring a same-sex kiss between Alicia Hawthorne and another woman was initially cut. However, due to current Disney CEO Bob Chapek's response to the "Don't Say Gay" Bill and the internal uproar it caused within Disney, the scene was reinstated.[5]
Casting
Chris Evans was announced to have been cast as the human Buzz Lightyear upon the project's announcement in December 2020. Evans was the first and only choice MacLane had for Buzz. He visited Pixar's offices one day and they pitched him the project during a visit. Evans accepted the offer immediately, given his love for animation. Taika Waititi was reported to have been cast in an undisclosed role in November 2021.
Animation
The animators wanted the film to look "cinematic" and "chunky" in order to evoke the feeling of the sci-fi films MacLane grew up with. In order to achieve this, they asked a former Industrial Light & Magic employee to build a spaceship model for them, from which the animators drew inspiration; this technique was inspired by designers for early sci-fi films using models as inspiration for their sets and props. [6]
Release
Lightyear is scheduled to be released in theaters in the United States on June 17, 2022 by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, in RealD 3D, Dolby Cinema and IMAX formats. It will be the first theatrical release for Pixar in two years, since Soul, Luca and Turning Red were assigned direct-to-streaming releases on Disney+ in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Videos
Gallery
Trivia
- This will be the second Toy Story spin-off after Buzz Lightyear of Star Command.
- This will be the first Pixar film of the 2020s to be produced in a 2:39:1 aspect ratio, since Soul, unlike Luca and Turning Red, which were produced in the 1.85:1 aspect ratio.
- This is not a story about the Toy Story action figure or the cartoon Buzz Lightyear of Star Command, but the origin of the in-universe astronaut who inspired the cartoon and toy.
- This will be Pixar's first spin-off film.
- The second Pixar film to be released on June 17, after Finding Dory.
- This will be the second Disney animated spin-off to be produced in a 2:39:1 aspect ratio, after Planes: Fire & Rescue.
- Contrary to people's expectations, this is not the first time Buzz is played by an actor other than Tim Allen. The list includes:
- Pat Fraley (Toy Story Treats, video games, attractions)
- Patrick Warburton (Buzz Lightyear of Star Command)
- Javier Fernandez-Peña (Spanish mode in Toy Story 3)
- Mike MacRae (video games)
- Corey Burton (Disney on Ice)
- When the movie was announced, many people were thrown into great confusion over it. This can be largely attributed to the human character and the toy sharing the same name, which led many people to believe the human Lightyear's voice actor, Chris Evans, would replace the toy Lightyear's voice actor, Tim Allen, to become the new voice of the character. Disney later clarified on Twitter that this was not the case, with Evans being the voice of the in-universe character that inspired the toy, and Allen being the voice of the toy.[7]
- In the trailers, Buzz's ship is shown to be powered by a crystal. This is likely a homage to how in Toy Story, Buzz asks Woody if his people have yet to discover crystallic fusion.
- This will be the second Pixar movie to feature a Marvel Cinematic Universe actor after Onward.
- Tim Allen and Chris Evans both share the same birthday, but 28 years apart, with Tim being born in 1953, and Chris in 1981.
- The song performing in the trailers was "Starman" by David Bowie.
- When Alisha catches Buzz doing a mission log, she tells him nobody ever listens to them. In Buzz Lightyear of Star Command: The Adventure Begins, Warp Darkmatter made the same remark about mission logs.
- Just like Chris Evans character Steve Rogers, the Lightyear version of Buzz ends up in the future over sixty-two years later.
- Like in Toy Story and Toy Story 2, Buzz's reflection in shown on the inside of his helmet.
- When Buzz lands after travelling sixty-five years into the future, he says "Buzz Lightyear to Star Command. Come in, Star Command. Why Don't they awnser." This was the first thing Buzz in Toy Story.
References
- ↑ "Lightyear Teaser Trailer Shows Why A Buzz Lightyear Action Figure Exists In The ‘Toy Story’ Universe". Deadline. Retrieved on March 28, 2022.
- ↑ "Lightyear In IMAX Will Feature 1.43:1 Aspect Ratio Scenes". Forbes. Retrieved on March 28, 2022.
- ↑ "Lightyear Trailer & Poster Previews Pixar's Toy Story Spin-Off". ComingSoon.net. Retrieved on April 21, 2022.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.8 4.9 "Lightyear Official Trailer 2". YouTube. Retrieved on April 21, 2022.
- ↑ "Same-Sex Kiss Restored in Pixar’s Lightyear Following Staff Uproar Over Don’t Say Gay Bill (EXCLUSIVE)". Collider (March 18, 2022). Retrieved on March 22, 2022.
- ↑ "'Lightyear' Director Angus MacLane on Making the Action Sci-Fi Movie That Buzz Lightyear Is Based On". Collider (October 27, 2021). Retrieved on February 8, 2022.
- ↑ [1]
v - e - d | ||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|