We could have seen a recent box office dual between the two stars of the Toy Story series if not for a controversial recasting at the center of Lightyear. In the spinoff, Chris Evans voices a new incarnation of Buzz Lightyear, the space hero young Andy idolizes as a child in the Toy Story films. The story is presented as a movie that exists within the Toy Story universe that spawned the toy line that the action figure version of Buzz Lightyear is a part of.

Technically, the Buzz we meet in Lightyear is not the same version of the character, and that’s perhaps the main reason why Tim Allen did not return to voice the role. In any case, the decision to go with a new actor has generated a lot of controversy, and it’s possibly one of the reasons why many fans chose to skip seeing Lightyear in theaters, turning the film into a box office bomb. Whatever the reason is for the recasting, it seems to be a gamble that did not quite pay off.

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For his part, Tom Hanks, who played the Woody to Allen’s Buzz Lightyear in the Toy Story series, would have preferred to see no recasting take place. Speaking with CinemaBlend, Hanks spoke about how Lightyear and Elvis are both playing in theaters, having Hanks competing with a Toy Story spinoff. Hanks mentions how he wanted to compete with Allen at the box office, but that didn’t happen as the role was recast, a decision he doesn’t understand. But what’s most important, says Hanks, is that people are going back to the theater to see movies.

Tim Allen Says He Wishes Lightyear Had a Better Connection to Toy Story

     Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

Just recently, Tim Allen had also broken his silence on the controversy surrounding the casting in Lightyear. Speaking with Extra, Allen said he recalled speaking about doing a movie like that with the Toy Story team many years ago but he was not a part of the official discussions for Lightyear, as the spinoff comes from a new creative team. Allen was not particularly upset about the recasting of the role as he wasn’t particularly fond of this new Buzz being a bit of a departure from the Toy Story Buzz that fans have gotten invested in.

Lightyear is playing in movie theaters.