There have been some theories regarding the Disney and Pixar movie Lightyear, and if the animated action would be more serious than its Toy Story predecessors or still include the humor we've come to expect from Pixar flicks. The first Lightyear trailer seemed to clear that up quite nicely, and now a new trailer gives fans the moment we've all been waiting for: Buzz Lightyear's catchphrase: "To infinity and beyond."
Chris Evans takes over voice acting duties of the titular character, after Tim Allen originated the role in the previous Toy Story movies. Lightyear is a pretty unique spinoff, in that rather than being an origin story for the Buzz Lightyear toy, this is supposed to be the sci-fi movie that inspired the toy line (an explanation for the change in voice actors).
The trailer shows Buzz Lightyear performing a test flight in the hopes of exploring new galaxies and highlights the rest of the Lightyear cast. After Alisha Hawthorne (Uzo Aduba) touches Buzz's finger — saying the iconic phrase — the astronaut is blasted into space for what is supposed to be a 4-minute test. After an "utterly terrifying" journey, they return not 4 minutes later but 62 years, 7 months, and 5 days later, and Alisha has been replaced by her granddaughter Izzy Hawthorne (Keke Palmer).
Izzy enlists Buzz to help her and her ragtag team destroy the alien ship, and this is likely where our heroes will come face-to-face with a pretty scary-looking Zurg. James Brolin will make his voice acting debut for this notable role. Joining the Knives Out star, other members of the voice cast include Dale Soules, Taika Waititi, Peter Sohn, Mary McDonald-Lewis, Efren Ramirez and Isiah Whitlock Jr.
Time travel is definitely new to the Toy Story universe, and I can already see how emotional connections are going to be made between Izzy Hawthorne and her grandmother Alisha. The elder was apparently a pretty significant figure in whatever space missions were happening in her time, as evidenced by a statue of her that Izzy showed Buzz in the new trailer. It seems Alisha will also make another big contribution to the Toy Story universe, outside the context of the movie itself.
Following Disney's recent "Don’t Say Gay" bill controversy, Pixar has reportedly reinstated a same-sex kiss that had previously been removed from the film. The LGBTQ+ moment will reportedly be between Uzo Aduba's Alisha Hawthorne and another female character in the Pixar flick, who she will have a meaningful relationship with in the storyline.
The Toy Story franchise has been a phenomenon since the original movie came out in 1995, so it'll be exciting to see how audiences react to this switch to a possibly more serious action and sci-fi plot. (Time dilation? We've come quite a long way from the toy soldiers in Andy's bedroom!) Lightyear is set to premiere Friday, June 17, exclusively in theaters and IMAX. This will be the studio's first theatrical release since Onward in 2020. In the meantime, be sure to check out our 2022 movie release schedule to see what other films are coming soon!
