Tim Allen is set to go ‘to infinity and beyond’ as Buzz Lightyear for Toy Story 5.
The 71-year-old actor, who along with Tom Hanks has been part of an intrepid duo leading a group of classic toys in four previous adventures, spoke about the project in an interview with Collider.
“I just did the first five-hour session for Buzz, probably a week ago,” Allen told the publication. “It’s very, very strange to be back there.”
The actor remained silent about the plot of the highly anticipated animated adventure, but the outlet reported that he would voice multiple Buzz Lightyears for the project.
“It’s a very, very intelligent story,” he said of the script.
The original 1995 Toy Story was nominated for three Oscars and grossed more than $394.4 million worldwide.
Tim Allen, 71, has revealed that he will reprise the character of Buzz Lightyear in Toy Story 5 (pictured in Los Angeles in June 2019).
Toy Story 2 grossed $497.3 million, Toy Story 3 surpassed the billion-dollar mark, and Toy Story 4 grossed about $1.07 billion worldwide.
However, the Santa Claus veteran said, “I really don’t think it’s about money,” when it comes to motivation for another project.
“I’m sure they want it to be a success, but that’s not why they did it.”
Allen explained that history was the real motivator.
“If they hadn’t come up with a brilliant script, they wouldn’t have done it and they wouldn’t have called Tom (Hanks) and me.” He said, “It’s really smart.”
As for getting back into character after more than five years, the actor admitted, “It was really hard to get into character, and maybe two hours later, I was doing Buzz.”
As for when fans will be able to see the new adventure in theaters, Allen said, “I think it’s a year away…I’m already up to the third act.”
‘We will do the third act. And then we’ll come back and clean it up. And then I’ll do it about five more times,” before the projected 2026 launch.
Audiences were first introduced to Buzz Lightyear in 1995’s Toy Story, which received three Oscar nominations. Allen told Collider that he had already been in the recording studio for the newest episode. ‘I just did the first five-hour session for Buzz, probably a week ago.’
All of the Toy Story movies have been hugely successful, with Toy Story 4 grossing about $1.07 billion worldwide. “I don’t really think it’s about money,” Allen said, adding that the script is “very, very smart… It’s going to be fun… It’s a really good story.”
‘It’s going to be fun… It’s a very good story, guys. It’s really good.’
There have been many tender moments of friendship between Buzz and Hanks’ character Woody, but Allen said he was particularly moved by a scene in Toy Story 4 in which Buzz and Woody were about to break up.
“When I said ‘To infinity’ and Tom said ‘And beyond,’ it was very emotional for both of us. We are very close friends and I loved that,” the Emmy nominee said.
All four Toy Story movies are available to stream on Disney+.