Tom Hanks says he doesn't "understand" why Tim Allen didn't voice Buzz in Lightyear

The Elvis star said he had hoped to see Allen in Lightyear so their respective films could go head to head at the box office

By Hattie Lindert | July 5, 2022 | 5:39pm

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Tom Hanks Photo: Jeff Spicer

Count Tom Hanks among the Buzz Lightyear truthers for whom Chris Evans just doesn’t make the cut. In a new interview, Hanks expresses his confusion over the fact that Tim Allen did not return to voice the brawny astronaut in Lightyear that he originated in 1995's Toy Story.

“I don’t understand that,” Hanks tells CinemaBlend.

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The topic came up when the interviewer asked Hanks if it was “strange” to see Elvis going up against a Buzz Lightyear film in the 2022 summer blockbuster championships. According to Hanks, strange isn’t exactly the right word; in fact, the actor says he had actually been excited about the prospect of some friendly Elvis v. Lightyear competition—that is, when he thought Allen was still involved.

“I actually wanted to go head-to-head with Tim Allen and then they didn’t let Tim Allen do it,” Hanks explains.

Though Allen himself has stayed mostly mum on Evans’ casting, he did share a quick quip with Extra on the new Lightyear film.

“I’ve stayed out of this ’cause it has nothing to do [with my character],” he explained at the time. “There’s really no Toy Story Buzz without Woody… It just doesn’t seem to have any connection to the toy.”

Although Hanks shares Allen’s confusion over where exactly the Allen-less Lightyear fits in the Toy Story galaxy, he isn’t about to protest Hollywood over it, either. Hanks says the most important thing the film, and any movie in theaters now, can do is bring movie lovers “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. And going to see a movie with them, I’m looking forward to that,” Hanks shares.