The new Pixar film Lightyear will be hitting theaters on June 17, and fans can't wait to see the origin story of one of their favorite childhood characters, Buzz Lightyear. From making LGBTQ+ history to a possible connection to another Pixar classic, there are countless things for fans to look forward to in this Toy Story spinoff.
Lightyear tells the story of the young, ambitious astronaut Buzz Lightyear, who is trapped on a hostile planet with the rest of his crew. They must try to find a way back home while also facing a number of threats to both their lives and the lives of everyone in the universe. That in itself is a great selling point, but let's look a little deeper to see why fans can't wait for this release.
It Will Be Making History For the LGBTQ+ Community
Lightyear will be the first Pixar film to feature a kiss between two people of the same sex. Izzy Hawthorne, played by Uzo Aduba, is in a relationship with another woman, whose name has yet to be revealed. An emotional scene shows the two starting a life together, and sharing a kiss. According to Pixar employees, the kiss was originally cut from the movie, but LGBTQ+ employees and allies called out the company in an open letter, for cutting out nearly every moment of overtly gay affection in their films. Pixar responded by restoring the kiss in the upcoming film.
Hawthorne will be the second openly LGBTQ+ character, the first being Officer Spector (Lena Waithe) from Onward. She briefly mentions her wife, but her wife is not seen on screen, and the moment is fleeting. Disney has had a couple of LGBTQ+ characters on film, such as the lesbian couple in Finding Dory, although they are nameless and only appear for a moment. There is also LeFou (Josh Gad), in 2017’s remake of Beauty and the Beast. LeFou plays Gaston's (Luke Evans) side-kick, and he is seen dancing with a man in the final scene just before the credits roll.
Chris Evans is Voicing Buzz
Although most fans were excited about Evans voicing the new Buzz Lightyear, some were confused. Why Chris Evans instead of Tim Allen, who has been voicing the character since 1995? Evans hasn’t done much voice acting, and audiences were worried that Buzz was just going to sound like Captain America. Their worries were put to rest when the trailers started to come out, and they got a taste of Evans’ take on the role. There seems to be no doubt that he will deliver a stellar performance as the spaceman.
Chris Evans has been the voice of Captain America and Johnny Storm in a couple of video games throughout his career. He also appeared as Human Torch in an episode of Robot Chicken in 2008 and voiced Casey in an episode of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in 2007. Fans were hoping he would be voicing Steve Rogers in What If, but the voice was instead done by Josh Keaton. Maybe Lightyear will be the first of many blockbuster voice acting roles for Evans since he seems to be moving away from live-action roles.
The Film Will Give an Origin Story to Buzz Lightyear
Buzz Lightyear was introduced as the rival toy and eventual ally to Woody in Toy Story. He is an action hero based on Andy’s favorite movie. Director Angus MacLane confirmed that Lightyear is supposed to be the movie that Andy loves so much, and the reason he wanted a Buzz Lightyear toy. The Toy Story franchise is known for its Easter Eggs, so this is bound to give us plenty to chew on.
Buzz is an exceptionally unique character in Toy Story because he’s the only toy that doesn’t seem to know he’s a toy, that is until he sees rows of Buzz Lightyear toys lined up in the store. This is likely because he’s the only one that is directly modeled after a real person, so he’s convinced he is that person. It’s going to be exciting for fans to see the character he is based on, and learn more about the Buzz from the beloved childhood franchise.
Some fans think Lightyear might connect to Wall-E
The trailer shows robots that have a similar style to the cleanup robot Wall-E, lending a helping hand to the astronauts on the launch pad. There are also shots of Buzz on a different planet, but not wearing a space helmet, implying that it has oxygen levels similar to earth. This has got some fans thinking that the mission Buzz and his crew go on is one of the early stages of ‘Operation Re-Colonize’, which is why the Axium and other ships evacuated earth during Wall-E. The team could be trying to find planets that are sustainable for humans to re-colonize.
The idea that this new film could connect to fan-favorite Wall-E has fans looking forward to seeing the new movie to find out if it could be true. The famous 'Pixar Theory' by Jon Negroni explains how all the Pixar movies connect, so perhaps the company is finally confirming that theory. Maybe the film will even set up a prequel or sequel to Wall-E, and bring back the beloved robot.
Emperor Zurg Will be in the Film
Zurg makes his official appearance in the latest trailer for Lightyear as a “massive robot” according to Buzz. He looks quite different and less toy-like than Zurg in the Toy Story franchise. Maybe if the movie does connect to Wall-E, Zurg will be controlled by a human who is trying to stop ‘Operation Re-Colonize’. He is going to be the main antagonist of the movie, and fans can't wait to see the origin of their rivalry.
Spotted in the film is also an army of Zurg-bots, and they look quite similar to the bots from the video game Rex was playing in Toy Story 2. It seems like Buzz and Hawthorne will have their work cut out for them if they have to battle this robot army and Zurg himself.