Pixar Animation Studios‘ Lightyear is an anticipated American computer-animated science fiction action-adventure film that will be released by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. It’s a Toy Narrative spin-off that serves as an origin story for the fictitious test pilot/astronaut character that inspired the Buzz Lightyear toy/action figure featured in the main films, and it’s portrayed as a blockbuster film inside a blockbuster picture that the Toy Story characters would watch. Buzz Lightyear of Star Command: The Adventure Begins, a 2000 direct-to-video film that served as the pilot for a spin-off television series, Buzz Lightyear of Star Command (2000–2001), addressed this topic earlier. Angus MacLane co-wrote and directed the film, which stars Chris Evans as the voice of the titular character.
Keke Palmer, Peter Sohn, James Brolin, Taika Waititi, Dale Soules, Uzo Aduba, Mary McDonald-Lewis, Efren Ramirez, and Isiah Whitlock Jr. star as the title character, with Keke Palmer, Peter Sohn, James Brolin, Taika Waititi, Dale Soules, Uzo Aduba, Mary McDonald-Lewis, Efren Ramirez, and Isiah Whitlock Jr.
Lightyear depicts the narrative of young astronaut Buzz Lightyear, who is marooned on a hazardous planet with his commander and crew and must navigate through space and time to get home while also dealing with a threat to the universe’s survival. Following the completion of Finding Dory (2016), MacLane, a science fiction lover, approached Pixar with the notion of developing a feature about Buzz Lightyear. The animators intended to give the picture a “cinematic” and “chunky” aesthetic to imitate the sci-fi flicks that the filmmaker grew up watching. The film’s soundtrack was created by Michael Giacchino.
The film is scheduled to be theatrically released in the United States on June 17, 2022, in RealD 3D, 4DX, Dolby Cinema and IMAX formats.
The Cast:
- Chris Evans as Buzz Lightyear, a test pilot who later becomes the legendary Space Ranger.
- Keke Palmer as Izzy Hawthorne, Alisha’s granddaughter, who Buzz meets.
- Keira Hairston as a young Izzy
- Peter Sohn as Sox, a robotic cat and Buzz’s companion.
- James Brolin as Emperor Zurg
- Taika Waititi as Mo Morrison
- Dale Soules as Darby Steel
- Uzo Aduba as Alisha Hawthorne, Buzz’s best friend, commanding officer and one of Izzy’s grandmothers.
- Mary McDonald-Lewis as I.V.A.N.
- Efren Ramirez as Diaz
- Isiah Whitlock Jr. as Commander Burnside
- Tim Peake as “Tim from Mission Control”
Premise:
Lightyear, a sci-fi action adventure and the official origin tale of Buzz Lightyear, the hero who inspired the toy, follows the famed Space Ranger after he and his commander are stranded on a hazardous planet 4.2 million light-years from Earth. Buzz is joined by a squad of ambitious recruits and his cute robot companion cat, Sox, as he tries to find a route back home via space and time. The entrance of Zurg, an intimidating figure with an army of vicious robots and a mystery motive, complicates circumstances and threatens the mission.