Tim Allen Distances Himself from ‘Lightyear’: ‘It Just Doesn’t Seem to Have Any Connection to the Toy’

At long last, the actor who played Buzz Lightyear the toy has spoken out about the movie that the toy was based on.

In a new interview with Extra, Tim Allen broke his silence on “Lightyear,” the new Pixar film that sees Chris Evans (sort of) taking over as the iconic space ranger that Allen voiced in four “Toy Story” movies. Allen, who will next be seen in “The Santa Clause” on Disney+, made it clear that “Lightyear” is entirely separate from “Toy Story.”

“The short answer is I’ve stayed out of this because it has nothing to do [with my character],” Allen said. “This is a whole new team that really had nothing to do with the first movies.”

Allen made it clear that while he wasn’t necessarily criticizing “Lightyear,” he simply does not see it as connected to the “Toy Story” franchise in any meaningful way.

“It’s a wonderful story,” he said. “It just doesn’t seem to have any connection to the toy, and it’s a little…I don’t know. It just has no relationship to Buzz. It’s just no connection. I wish there was a better connection to this.”

Allen is not alone in his confusion about the new film’s connection to “Toy Story.” Chris Evans, who voices Buzz in the new movie, made headlines in 2020 when he tweeted that “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.” 

It turns out that Evans’ much-memed tweet was not entirely correct. The film actually opens with a title card saying that “Lightyear” is Andy’s favorite movie, which explains why he gets the Buzz Lightyear toy. But director Angus MacLane recently complicated the lore even more by saying that Andy’s toy is based on a TV spinoff of “Lightyear” that exists somewhere in the “Toy Story” universe.

“When I grew up, there was like a sci-fi movie and then they would come up with a cartoon show, and then that cartoon show would have toys,” MacLane said. “The cartoon show would be a little bit softer, will be a little bit goofier and so for me, that’s what the ‘Toy Story’ Buzz was from”

“Lightyear” is now playing in theaters.