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American actor Tom Hanks has finally opened up about the dismissal of his long-time friend Tim Allen from the Toy Story franchise. The latter was replaced by Chris Evans in the latest film Lightyear.
In an interview with CinemaBlend, the 65-year-old star was asked if he felt "strange" that his new Elvis was competing in theaters with the latest Buzz Lightyear flick. The actor responded:
“How about that? I actually wanted to go head-to-head with Tim Allen and then they didn’t let Tim Allen do it. I don’t understand that.”
Tom Hanks has been the voice behind Pixar's famous character, Sheriff Woody Pride, alongside Tim Allen, who portrayed Buzz Lightyear. Following the announcement of Lightyear, Pixar fans expected the original voice-cast to make a return. However, it was revealed that Chris Evans would be portraying the spaceman.
When the interviewer stated that the Gifted actor donned the role, Hanks said that he was aware of it:
“Here’s the thing: I want to go back in the theatre 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 [Allen] – I’m looking forward to that.”
Although Evans had previously defended the casting of Lightyear, stating that it was not based on the beloved toy and character, director Angus MacLane claimed that the decision to choose him was "intentional."
Tom Hanks and Tim Allen have been close friends for a long-time now
Like their animated characters Woody and Buzz, Tom Hanks and Tim Allen have been close friends since 1995, which also marked the release of the first Toy Story.
Before the animated film was released, both actors were on different trajectories. Tom Hanks had won just his second Oscar for Forrest Gump and was receiving plaudits for Apollo 13.
Allen, on the other hand, was renowned for appearing on ABC's television series Home Improvement, while also having Disney's The Santa Clause under his belt.
After appearing in the 1995 film together, the duo went onto reprise their roles in the franchise's subsequent releases, including Toy Story 2 (1999), Toy Story 3 (2010) and Toy Story 4 (2019).
In a 2019 interview with CinemaBlend, Tom Hanks revealed that he and Tim Allen remain friends and share a great camaraderie:
“We actually have become very close simply because of the union of Woody and Buzz. After we made the second one, we began to have regular lunches about every three months or so in which he and I sit down. And alcohol is not involved. It’s just we sit down and we talk for about three and a half hours straight every time we get together and we do seek each other out in order to touch on all the aspects of our lives. Certainly professionally."
Hanks credited Toy Story for his friendship with Allen and stated that had it not been for Woody and Buzz, they wouldn't have met.
Aside from Hanks, Tim Allen also dissed the new Lightyear in a recent interview, stating that the film had "no connection to Buzz" and remained incomplete without the character of Woody.
