Tom Hanks says he “didn’t understand” the decision to cast Chris Evans in the role of Buzz Lightyear in the new movie, replacing his longtime co-star Tim Allen.
Hanks, the original voice of Woody in the Toy Story franchise, was asked on his Elvis publicity round how he felt to be up against a Buzz Lightyear film in cinemas.
“How ’bout that? I actually wanted to go head-to-head with Tim Allen, and then they didn’t let Tim Allen do it. I don’t understand that.”
Lightyear is presented as a prequel to the Toy Story series, showing Buzz in his early days when he put on his distinctive purple and green spacesuit. The film has caused ripples in certain countries with its depiction of Buzz kissing another boy, even being banned in some Middle Eastern countries, including Saudi Arabia and UAE, nor in Malaysia or Indonesia.
Allen voiced Buzz in the franchises’s four films from 1995 to 2019, and recently questioned the premise of the film, not just his own exclusion.
Allen stated that even though the new movie has “a wonderful story, it just doesn’t seem to have any connection to the toy.”
“I wish there was a better connection,” he told Extra.
Allen also noted there was “no Buzz without (Hanks’) Woody.”
Chris Evans, who has replaced Tim Allen in the role, has been diplomatic about the change in casting, showering high praise on his predecessor.
“My younger version would have just been pinching himself,” the Captain America star told Good Morning America last month.
He added, “Tim Allen is Buzz Lightyear. What he did in those movies is so iconic and so loved, and I’d be a fool not to incorporate some of his choices into this role.”
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