Woke actor Chris Evans has been tapped to be the voiceover actor for Pixar’s latest “Toy Story” flick, “Lightyear,” an origin story of “the original Buzz Lightyear.”
The “vague announcement” of the “Toy Story” prequel on Thursday had fans wondering why actor Tim Allen, who’s openly right-wing and has voiced the character of Lightyear in all four “Toy Story” films, was not given the voiceover role.
Pixar and Evans emphasized that the flick is about the character Buzz Lightyear is based on, and not a movie about the toy Buzz Lightyear, originally voiced by Allen. Evans also took to social media to praise Allen’s role and, again, differentiate the voiceover acting.
“Blasting into theaters June 17, 2022, Lightyear is the definitive story of the original Buzz Lightyear,” Pixar announced Thursday. “Voiced by [Chris Evans], get ready to go to ‘infinity and beyond’ with Lightyear.”
“I don’t even have the words,” Evans reacted. “And just to be clear, this isn’t Buzz Lightyear the toy. This is the origin story of the human Buzz Lightyear that the toy is based on.”
And just to be clear, this isn’t Buzz Lightyear the toy. This is the origin story of the human Buzz Lightyear that the toy is based on
— Chris Evans (@ChrisEvans) December 11, 2020
As noted by The Independent, Disney’s “slightly vague announcement about the film’s premise” confused fans about the casting of Evans over Allen, leading to Allen’s name trending on Twitter. “Many theorised that Allen had been replaced in the original role by the Captain America actor,” the article said. Others referenced Allen’s supposed support for President Donald Trump, speculating about an apparent political ouster. (Allen backed Republican John Kasich back in 2016 and has spoken highly of Trump.)
Here are some of the hundreds of comments:
“So Tim Allen just ain’t buzz anymore?”
“There is no Buzz Lightyear without Tim Allen #NotMyBuzz.”
“Disney slowly pushing conservatives into a pit and out of our screens and I’m f***ing here for it. #buzzlightyear #TimAllen #byeb****.”
“What Happened To Tim Allen??!!? He Is Irreplaceable!! No One Can Replace Him or Tom Hanks, but politics bias hypocrisy and ignorance is ALIVE in Hollywood!”
Evans, taking to Instagram, emphasized that “Tim Allen is Buzz Lightyear, and no one could ever touch his performance.”
“Working with Pixar is a dream come true,” the actor posted Thursday. “I’ve been a massive fan of their films since the very beginning. My team could barely contain their excitement when they told me that Pixar had a pitch for me. All they said was ‘Buzz Lightyear.’ I didn’t know what that meant, since Tim Allen is Buzz Lightyear, and no one could ever touch his performance.”
“I needed to know how this character was different and why this story was worth telling. I can say 2 things with absolute confidence,” he continued: “[One,] I didn’t stop smiling through the ENTIRE pitch. Ear to ear. [Two,] Everyone can rest easy. And get very excited.”
“Trust me when I say that they REALLY know what they’re doing over there. This one is gonna special, and it doesn’t step on a single thing. I can’t even put my excitement into words. I smile every time I think about it,” he added. “#LIGHTYEAR.”
Evans is open about his left-wing political views, and last month seemingly supported the shocking calls for a list of Trump “enablers,” tweeting, “Remember who said nothing.”
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“Lightyear” was announced on Thursday at the Disney Investor Day conference.