Tim Allen Gives Major ‘Toy Story’ Update as Disney Cancels Film

There may be no Disney Pixar franchise more stable than Toy Story.

The beloved Pixar Animated Film series, which began in 1995, introduced fans to the life of Andy’s toys and followed their story with four films that included them being passed on to Bonnie, with the latest installment of the franchise coming in 2019 with Toy Story 4. Of course, all four films have starred many original voices from the first film, but none of the stars are more prominent than Tom Hanks (Woody) and Tim Allen (Buzz Lightyear).

Just recently, Disney Pixar attempted to release a new Toy Story film without Buzz Lightyear himself. Lightyear (2022) starred Chris Evans as the voice of Buzz Lightyear, and this was done to tell the “real life story” of the character who inspired the toy. Even with this explanation from Disney, Toy Story fans weren’t buying it. Lightyear bombed at the box office, grossing just $226 million worldwide on a budget of more than $200 million. The Pixar film went head-to-head with Minions: The Rise of Gru (2022), which grossed $939.4 million on a budget of less than $100 million. Of course, the lack of success from Lightyear caused both Tom Hanks and Tim Allen to speak out about the movie, and though neither completely disregarded the film, it could be understood that neither was happy with the results.

Unfortunately for Disney, the woes with animated films didn’t stop there. The next animated film for Disney was none other than Strange World (2022), which grossed a mediocre $73.6 million at the box office. Following these numbers and the seeming cancellation of Disney by many fans, Disney CEO Bob Iger announced that three popular franchises would be getting sequels. These include: Frozen 3, Zootopia 2, and Toy Story 5.

With the announcement of Toy Story 5, it was also confirmed that Tim Allen would be reprising his role as Buzz Lightyear. The actor recently was asked the upcoming sequel and what fans can expect. He revealed that the fifth installment of the franchise had been planned for “quite some time” and that things surrounding the Lightyear film was “peculiar.” The film, which saw its documentary canceled on Disney+ and has essentially been given the cold-shoulder by fans, was reported originally to be considered for its own sequel and potentially even become the next attraction in the Disney Parks.

“Toy Story five had been kind of laid down quite a while ago, but we just couldn’t get into it. Then Disney announced it about two months ago. So I’ve made friends with all of the people in Toy Story, especially Tom Hanks. So for that, I’m blessed to have these friends in my life. I love that character. I love that story. So I always wait to see the script,” Allen said via the Daily Mail. “They came up with that. I think it’s getting close and I said unless it could have been done really well I know that the crew didn’t want to do it. So none of us could mention any of this. Even when all the ancillary Buzz or Lightyear movie was coming out, this was all in play. So it was kind of peculiar. That’s all.”

Of course, Allen returned to Disney this past Christmas with his own Disney+ series, The Santa Clauses, where he reprised his role as Scott Calvin / Santa Claus. The series follows Scott planning his retirement after many successful years as Santa Claus, and it has been renewed for a second season.

Unfortunately, fans will have to wait for more information about Toy Story 5. The Walt Disney Company is in the midst of its third round of layoffs and this could potentially lead to delays, but no one really knows what divisions are being affected the most. For now, we do know that the sequel is still on the docket of films to be made and should likely serve as a major box office attraction for Disney Pixar when it is released.

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