In Los Angeles, Tim Allen and Tom Hanks have a meal together for a rumored Toy Story reunion.
They appeared to be having a discussion. It’s unclear exactly what they discussed, but the encounter comes about three months after Hanks expressed his disappointment that Chris Evans was chosen to voice Buzz Lightyear in the film Lightyear instead of Allen.
Hanks was questioned in June over the simultaneous release of Lightyear and the Baz Luhrmann-directed biopic Elvis, in which he plays Col. Tom Parker, Elvis’ manager.
“I wanted to go head-to-head with Tim Allen,” Hanks said. “They didn’t let Tim Allen do it. I don’t understand that.”
Hanks didn’t elaborate on the remark, instead shifting the topic to the excitement of seeing cinemas start to fill up again after the lockout.
“Just as long as people come back to the motion picture theater,” he said. “I want to go back into the theater with a bunch of strangers and leave with something in common. That’s what I want to do.”
Not just Hanks was perplexed as to why Allen was passed up for the role. The casting decision baffled a lot of the fans. However, it should be emphasized that the character’s logistical needs ultimately dictated the casting. Allen provides the voice for the toy version of Buzz Lightyear, but Evans provides the voice for the fictional astronaut from the Toy Story movies that the toy is based on.
Evans acknowledged to ET’s Matt Cohen during a promotion for the movie earlier this summer that saying the character’s most well-known phrase, “To infinity and beyond!” — proved “nerve-racking.”
“Because it’s something that we all know from someone else,” Evans said, referring to Allen’s delivery of the line as Buzz Lightyear in the Toy Story franchise. “So it’s big shoes to fill and you want to put your own interpretation on it, but you also have to make sure you pay homage to what we all know and what we all love.”