It’s hard to say anything about Pixar that hasn’t already been said. The Disney-owned animation studio released their first CG-animated feature film Toy Story in 1995. This movie paved the way not only for more CG-animated movies but also for more amazing Pixar films such as Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, and Up. What separates Pixar from other CG animation studios is that their movies, in addition to being funny and exciting, often deal with mature themes and messages, making them worthwhile to both children and adults.
Even though Pixar said they would take a break from sequels after 2019’s Toy Story 4, that doesn’t mean they won’t make other types of films based on their established IPs. At the 2020 Disney Investor Day meeting, Pixar’s Chief Creative Officer Pete Doctor announced Lightyear, a feature-length origin story about the iconic Toy Story character Buzz Lightyear.
This guide seeks to answer questions you may have about Lightyear including when it will release, where you can (possibly) watch it, and who is part of the voice cast.
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Watch the Trailer for Lightyear
Disney released the first trailer for Lightyear on October 29, 2021, which gives audiences a good look at the film’s stunning photorealistic animation as well as its futuristic worlds and characters. Additionally, the classic David Bowie song “Starman” sets the mood for most of the trailer. This was followed by a second trailer on February 8, 2022, a TV Spot released on March 28, and the latest trailer, released in April, which you can check out below.
When Is the Lightyear Release Date?
Lightyear is set to release on June 17, 2022, three months after the last Pixar film, Turning Red. As for whether or not Lightyear will receive a simultaneous release with Disney+, the box office success of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings has convinced Disney to give theater-only releases to many of their 2021 movies and presumably everything after.
Lightyear is the first Pixar film since Onward to receive a standard theatrical release after Disney announced that Turning Red would become the third Pixar movie in a row to premiere exclusively on Disney+ at no extra charge. At the moment, it remains to be seen if and when the movie will be released on Disney+.
Who Is in the Lightyear Cast?
Captain America himself, Chris Evans, will be the voice of the film’s titular Space Ranger. Although Tim Allen voiced Buzz Lightyear in the first four Toy Story films and has continued voicing him much of its related media, MacLane, who coincidentally directed Allen in the 2011 Toy Story short film Small Fry and the 2013 television special Toy Story of Terror!, said the following about this new casting:
“I wanted the film to have like a gravitas to it and a seriousness to it, but also have an actor who could bring comedy with that seriousness. He was really the first and only choice. I didn’t have a number two. It was very clear from the get-go. It was like, ‘If you were gonna make a legitimate sci-fi film about Buzz Lightyear, who would you get? Well, Chris Evans.’ You need someone that has that star power. If it had to be live-action, who would do it? He can do both. Although that chin would be so weird in live-action. You could never get around that. But he was the first choice and he’s been such an amazing partner. He totally got the material right away and felt the sense of responsibility to figure out the translation to the character, for this larger context of this sci-fi movie and really deliver on it. He’s just been a wonderful creative partner in the whole process.”
Apart from Evans, Keke Palmer (Scream Queens), Dale Soules (Orange Is the New Black), and Taika Waititi (Jojo Rabbit) have also been announced as part of the cast, lending their voices to other ambitious recruits at Star Command. The voice cast also includes Uzo Aduba, James Brolin, Mary McDonald-Lewis, Efren Ramirez, Peter Sohn, and Isiah Whitlock Jr. Bonus: Check out this featurette where the cast talks about what Buzz Lightyear means to them:
What About That Robot Cat?
If you've already seen the trailer, you might have noticed a robot cat whose collar is visible enough to read “Sox.” At one point, Sox even startles Lightyear into a karate stance, which may be a nod to his karate chop move in the Toy Story films.
Speaking about Sox, Angus McLane told Collider:
"It was originally a helper monkey. That changed to a cat, mostly because I think that it was gonna be funnier to animate a quadri-ped. Animating a monkey was never gonna be funny in the way that a cat with a simple robotic head would be. It just became a comedy in motion decision."
Considering that Lightyear is a Disney project, Sox could become an internet sensation in the vein of Grogu from The Mandalorian.
Where’s Zurg in Lightyear?
Since this is a Buzz Lightyear movie, many fans have been wondering if Evil Emperor Zurg will appear and the answer is yes! The archenemy of Lightyear made his first appearance in Toy Story 2 and was voiced by longtime Pixar animator Andrew Stanton. Zurg is very much a parody of classic Star Wars villain Darth Vader, right down to a scene where he tells another Buzz Lightyear action figure that he’s his father just like how Vader tells Luke Skywalker that he is his father in The Empire Strikes Back.
How Is the Early Reception to Lightyear?
Ahead of the film's release, we already have early reactions from press screenings of Lightyear and they are mostly positive. Here's what Collider's own Perri Nemiroff, Ross Bonaime, and Christina Radish had to say about the animated film:
What Is the Story of Lightyear?
Even though this film is an origin story for Buzz Lightyear, that does not mean it’s a prequel to Toy Story. Since Buzz Lightyear in the Toy Story movies is an action figure, this film will focus on the Buzz Lightyear character that the action figure is based on. Here's the official synopsis:
The definitive origin story of Buzz Lightyear, the hero who inspired the toy, “Lightyear” follows the legendary Space Ranger after he’s 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’s 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. A new poster and images are also available.
Is Lightyear Connected to the Buzz Lightyear of Star Command Movie and TV Series?
What many people may not know is that Lightyear is not the first Buzz Lightyear spinoff.
Sometime in August 2000, Disney released the traditionally animated direct-to-video film Buzz Lightyear of Star Command: The Adventure Begins where Allen reprises the iconic role. Set in the fictional universe that the Buzz Lightyear action figures are part of, this movie follows the titular space ranger as he battles Zurg (Wayne Knight) with the help of his three fellow rangers: Booster (Stephen Furst), Mira Nova (Nicole Sullivan), and XR (Larry Miller).
Even though the movie is traditionally animated, it still features a CG-animated intro from Pixar set after Toy Story 2 in which Woody (Jim Hanks), Buzz (Allen), Rex (Wallace Shawn), and the rest of the gang watch the movie we’re about to watch--very meta, indeed!
The Adventure Begins also serves as a backdoor pilot to the traditionally animated television series Buzz Lightyear of Star Command, which first aired on UPN and ABC on October 2, 2000, and ran for over sixty episodes. Patrick Warburton voiced Buzz in the series while Miller and Neil Flynn alternated between voicing XR.
We don’t know when the Buzz Lightyear of Star Command movie and series will be available to stream on Disney+ or even if they take place in the same continuity as Lightyear, but we’re hoping that both of these questions are answered soon enough.