Lightyear Release Date, Cast, Plot, Trailer, News, and Everything You Need to Know

To infinity and the backstory!

Disney and Pixar announced that the beloved Buzz Lightyear, one of the dolls from the Toy Story movie series, will have his very own spinoff.

Toy Story tells the tale of a group of toys owned by a boy named Andy. Together, the toys go on different adventures as they learn all about friendship, loyalty, and growing up.

Buzz Lightyear is the favorite character of many Toy Story fans who were enamored with the toy, like Andy. In the original animated film, Buzz was designed after an actual astronaut. He is a Space Ranger under the Star Command, an organization fighting Emperor Zurg to protect the universe from his Evil. Because of his background, Buzz thought he was a real Space Ranger until he learns otherwise later in the movie.

Disney and Pixar initially announced the Lightyear project in 2020, and we are now very ready to watch the entire show. Excited? Here is everything we know so far about Lightyear.

Lightyear Release Date: When Will the Movie Come Out?

Credit: Pixar

Lightyear was released on June 17, 2022. The film will release three months after the other Pixar film, Turning Red.
The animated features the first time the animation studio includes a kiss between a same-sex kiss couple. This scene made it difficult for the movie to earn permission from several countries. In the end, the film failed to gain permission from 14 countries across the Middle East and Asia.

Lightyear Cast: Who are the Actors in the Movie?

Credit: Pixar

When the cast for Lightyear was announced, there was practically an uproar among the fans of Toy Story.

Chris Evans will lend his voice to Buzz Lightyear, and this casting was not welcomed as warmly as some may have hoped. The original voice for Buzz Lightyear in Toy Story was Tim Allen, and this was the voice we all grew up with, and not having him in the new movie was a cause for concern.

Eventually, issues cleared up when we learned that the new Lightyear movie would be about the fictional human Buzz Lightyear who inspired the creation of the dolls. This delineation between the human and the toy was enough to calm restless fans - Evans' Buzz Lightyear will tell a different story.

The producers felt it was important to differentiate Buzz the human from Buzz the toy to establish Buzz Lightyear as a hero worth idolizing. One of the first things the team did was to reach out to Allen to explain their decision.

Keke Palmer will lend her voice to another character named Izzy Hawthorne. Hawthorne wears a gold armored suit with the number 42, and she will also be seen wearing a spacesuit similar to Buzz', so we can assume that she is also a space ranger.

We will also hear Taika Waititi's voice in Lightyear in another presumed space ranger - Mo Morrison. Dale Soules will play Darby Steel.

Alongside these actors, Peter Sohn will play Sox, a ginger robot cat. James Brolin will play an undisclosed role, and Uzo Aduba will play Alicia.

Uzo Aduba's character will represent a more inclusive and LQBTQ+-friendly Disney and Pixar because she may be involved in the first-ever onscreen LQBTQ+ kiss produced by the company.

Variety writes,

"Anonymous Disney and Pixar employees told Variety that the kiss is between two female characters, one of whom is a major character voiced by Uzo Aduba."

Lightyear is also being released right in the middle of Pride Month. Coincidence? We think not!

Lightyear Crew: Who are the Creatives Behind the Scenes?

Credit: Pixar

Angus MacLane is the director of the photorealistic movie, Lightyear. He has also directed other animated films for Disney and Pixar in the past, especially Toy Story shorts.

In an interview with Collider, MacLane described his vision for Lightyear:

"I wanted to see about doing a film that was influenced by the '77 to '91 era of sci-fi films, as far as the cinematic quality and the tangibility of the world and more of the straightforward earnestness of that era."

MacLane wrote the movie with Peter Docter. Docter is a screenwriter for many famous animated movies like Up, Soul, Monsters Inc., and Inside Out.

Lightyear Plot: What Will is the Story of Lightyear?

Credit: Pixar

Lightyear will tell the story of the real human that inspired the creation of the toy we all know and love. This origin story can help us understand why toy Buzz acted the way he did.

Disney and Pixar have been very secretive about the plot of the movie. As of writing, the synopsis for Lightyear states: "The story of Buzz Lightyear and his adventures to infinity and beyond."

We can also expect to see one important character in Buzz's life - Emperor Zurg. Emperor Zurg is toy Buzz's archnemesis, and the movie may be an opportunity for us to learn how the rivalry between the two started.

Though Emperor Zurg will be in the film, we may not see other Toy Story characters.

What we can deduce from what we know is that Lightyear is a sci-fi movie. It widens the universe of the Toy Story franchise, taking us out into space in an adventure to witness the hero, the Space Ranger, who inspired generations.

How Well Did Lightyear Perform in Theatres?

Lightyear performed relatively less than what was expected of it. The film opened its first week with an estimate of $51 million dollars which was far below the $70 million dollars the film was anticipated to generate.

There may be several reasons why Lightyear earned relatively low at the box office, but the greatest factor may be the platform it was released in. This is the first time Pixar has released a movie in theatres and not on a streaming site since 2020. Another factor may be the number of countries where Lightyear premiered which was reduced after the animated film was banned in around 14 countries.

Lightyear Trailer: Is There a Trailer for Lightyear?

There is a trailer for Lightyear. Disney and Pixar released the first trailer on October 29, 2021.

The trailer shows us the human Buzz Lightyear and a new set of characters who will join Buzz in his quests. We get to meet Sox, a white and orange robotic cat who acts like a typical cat, and who seems to be a constant companion for our hero.

We also get to meet the other Space Rangers and the possible setting for the entire movie.

As if they needed to build more hype, Pixar released a second trailer for the movie on April 21, 2022.

Where to Watch Lightyear: Where Can I Watch the Animated Film?

Credit: Pixar

Lightyear will premier in theatres but will eventually be released on Disney+. Previous Disney movies premiered in the streaming service when they came out in theatres, but this may not be the case for Lightyear.

Lightyear has a lot riding on its proverbial shoulders. We are crossing our fingers in hopes that this film will help us understand Buzz more through a story told through infinity and beyond!