Pixar’s upcoming summer blockbuster animation Lightyear is set to officially soar into theaters this weekend, where it will provide a long-awaited origin story for the beloved character Buzz Lightyear from the nostalgic Toy Story saga. And ahead of the animated film’s much-anticipated release, star Chris Evans has compared the pressure of voicing the iconic character to when he first portrayed Marvel’s Captain America several years ago.
For years, the superhero Space Ranger was portrayed by legendary actor Tim Allen, who lent his voice to Buzz for all four movies in the Toy Story franchise. And while speaking with Entertainment Weekly, Evans addressed the difficulties of taking over as the voice of Buzz after Allen and how much the legacy of the character and the movie franchise means to him. Evans further explained that the pressure was the same for portraying Captain America and how he believes that it’s necessary to honor a character for the overall fanbase.
I feel like I had only reservations. Obviously I was thrilled to be working for Pixar. I’ve been a die-hard Pixar fan forever. But, yeah, obviously it was intimidating and daunting. I love what Tim Allen did, and I love what Toy Story meant to me.
You have to understand there will be a lot of people who have an idea in their heads, but this is like when I signed on to Captain America. You know there is a baked-in-the-cake fanbase, but that fanbase is there because they have an understanding in their mind of what the character already is. So you have to honor that when you’re making your choices.
The debate between Tim Allen and Chris Evans as the voice of Buzz initially started when Evans was first announced for the role, and the debate has only increased since then. While Evans himself even revealed that filling Allen’s shoes was truly intimidating, the 41-year-old Marvel star has also made it clear that playing Buzz Lightyear is a dream.
Don’t miss Lightyear when it soars into theaters on June 17.