Tom Hanks Reacts to Tim Allen’s ‘Lightyear’ Absence: “I Don’t Understand That”

Allen himself spoke out last week about debate surrounding his lack of involvement in the new Pixar prequel.

(L-R) Tom Hanks and Tim Allen Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images

Tim Allen finally spoke out last week about debate surrounding his absence from the recent animated film Lightyear, and it turns out that Tom Hanks, his compatriot in the Toy Story movies, has some thoughts on the matter as well.

Hanks, the voice of Buzz Lightyear’s best pal Woody in four previous Pixar films, expressed surprise that Allen, who voiced the Space Ranger action figure, was not asked to be involved in the new prequel. Lightyear, which hit theaters June 17, features Chris Evans voicing the astronaut whose heroic exploits provided the inspiration for the toy.

In the interview with CinemaBlend conducted prior to the release of Hanks’ film Elvis but just now generating media attention, the star was asked whether it would feel strange to compete in theaters opposite a Buzz film. “How about that?” Hanks replied, appearing a bit befuddled about the situation. “Actually, I wanted to go head-to-head with Tim Allen, and then they didn’t let Tim Allen do it. I don’t understand that.”

When the interviewer implied that Evans is a big name at the moment, Hanks responded, “Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know.” The actor then added diplomatically, “But here’s the thing: Just as long as people come back to the motion picture theater. I want to go back into the theater with a bunch of strangers and leave with something in common. That’s what I want to do.”

During a video interview with Extra last week, Allen said that Lightyear’s key creatives hadn’t worked on the Toy Story films, and he went on to say, “There’s really no Toy Story’s Buzz without Woody.”

Allen added at the time that he would have liked Lightyear to have a stronger link to the toy version of Buzz: “I wish there was a better connection.”

Lightyear opened to an underwhelming $50.6 million, taking second place behind the previous weekend’s No. 1 film, Jurassic World Dominion.