Chris Evans is the voice of Buzz Lightyear in the Disney/Pixar animated film, Lightyear, hitting theaters this summer — and he was the perfect person to wear the spacesuit, so to speak.
Lightyear producer, Galyn Susman, knew that the voice for the titular character had to be powerful — and also committed to the part. It’s a badge of honor to bring him to life, and when she realized all the pieces of the puzzle that would have to fit to make it work, she knew Evans was the man for the job.
She was elated when he agreed to be part of the project, and Screen Rant shared a quote from Susman regarding Evans’ dedication to the role of Lightyear, and how they discovered something new about him in the process.
“We needed a new voice for Buzz. He needed to have a nice, rich sound, able to be both dramatic and comedic, and most importantly, he needed to be heroic without coming off as arrogant or dense. That’s a tall order, and we immediately knew we had to ask Chris. What we didn’t know is that he is a huge animation fan, and would bring the love and passion into the project as well as his myriad acting talents. He even attended in animation dailies and gave the team a pep talk. It’s really been with wonderful collaboration, and we couldn’t be happier.”
Evans didn’t just come in to voice the character; he came in to be part of the experience and to make an excellent film together as a team.
Lightyear highlights the hero behind the Buzz Lightyear toy we’ve grown to love in the Toy Story realm, and will likely explain why Buzz was so adamant about not being a toy. Buzz was convinced that he was a space ranger, and viewers never really knew if that was his toy programming, or if there was something else to him.
The story is sure to bring us all back to our childhood as we gather around and watch the heroic tale of the space ranger who inspired Andy’s precious birthday gift so many years ago.
Lightyear hits theaters on June 17.