Tim Allen Reveals ‘Toy Story 5’ Production Update With Good News on New Sequel

Tim Allen is taking Toy Story fans to infinity and beyond with his latest update on Toy Story 5. The actor, who will once again voice the beloved spaceman in the upcoming animated sequel, told Collider in an interview published Dec. 27 that he had recently completed recording his first session for the film, which reportedly focuses mostly on his character.

“Well, I don’t know what I’m supposed to say. Yes, I just did the first five-hour session for Buzz, probably a week ago,” the Shifting Gears star told the outlet while promoting his new ABC sitcom. “It’s really, really weird to get back in it. I can’t tell you anything.”

Allen went on to praise the upcoming film, saying, “It’s a very, very clever story.” He added, “Do you wanna do five of these? I don’t really believe it’s about the money. I’m sure they want it to be a success, but that’s not why they did it. Had they not come up with a brilliant script, they wouldn’t have done it and they wouldn’t have called me and Tom [Hanks]. It’s really clever.”

He continued of returning to his role as Buzz Lightyear, “It was really a struggle to get, and then maybe two hours in, I was doing Buzz. I’m so blessed to be Buzz Lightyear, to be honest. It’s gonna be fun. I think we’re a year out. I’ve gotten up to the third act. We’ll do the third act. And then, we’ll go back and clean it. And then, I’ll do it about five more times. It’s a really good story, guys. It’s really good.”

Allen originally voiced Buzz Lightyear since the first film’s release in 1995, but did not reprise his role in the 2022 spinoff film Lightyear, which was based on the astronaut that inspired the Buzz Lightyear toy within the Toy Story universe. In his place, Chris Evans voiced the character Buzz.

Looking back on his role as Buzz throughout the years, Allen recalled a special moment when working with Hanks on what was previously thought to be the end of the Toy Story universe. “With Toy Story 4, when I said, ‘To infinity,’ and Tom said, ‘And beyond,’ was so emotional for the two of us. We’re real close friends, and I loved that,” he remembered.

Toy Story 5 is expected to hit theaters in 2026.