Hanks, the voice of Buzz Lightyear’s best friend Woody in four previous Pixar films, expressed surprise that Allen, who voiced the action Space Ranger, was not asked to join as a voice actor in new prequel. Lightyear, which hits theaters June 17, features Chris Evans voicing the astronaut whose heroic exploits inspired the game. In the interview with CinemaBlend conducted before the release of Hanks’ Elvis movie, but only now gaining media attention, the star was asked if he would feel weird competing in theaters opposite a Buzz movie. “What about this one;” Hanks replied, looking a little confused by the situation. “Actually, I wanted to go head-to-head with Tim Allen, and then they wouldn’t let Tim Allen do it. I do not understand it.” When the interviewer hinted that Evans is a big name right now, Hanks replied, “Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know.” The actor then added diplomatically: “But here’s the thing: People just have to go back to the movies. I want to go back to the theater with a bunch of strangers and leave with something in common. This is what I want to do”. During a video interview with Extra last week, Allen said that Lightyear’s core creatives hadn’t worked on the Toy Story films, and went on to say, “There’s not really Toy Story’s Buzz without Woody.” Allen then added that he wished Lightyear had a stronger link to the game version of Buzz: “I wish there was a better connection.” Lightyear opened with an underwhelming $50.6 million, finishing second behind the previous weekend’s No. 1 film, Jurassic World Dominion.
