As the new voice of Buzz Lightyear in Pixar’s Lightyear, Chris Evans explains the animated hero’s similarity to his MCU character, Captain America.
Chris Evans shared his thoughts on how his new role as the voice of Buzz Lightyear in Disney Pixar Light year is very similar to another heroic leader he used to play: Captain America.
Speaking to THR, Evans described the model qualities that the iconic toy story character and part of First Avenger, while highlighting their differences. “The characters themselves have a lot in common in terms of sense of responsibility and leadership,” Evans said. “But they are very different men, so you take the things that are useful and you leave the things that go Cap, Cap.”
Much like his former super soldier role, Evan’s Buzz Lightyear is portrayed as a real-life space ranger who finds himself 4.2 million light-years from Earth on a hostile planet. Buzz must lead a group of recruits on a mission to return home while facing the threat of Emperor Zurg (James Brolin). This “real” version of Buzz serves as the inspiration for his toy counterpart, voiced by Tim Allen in the toy story franchise. Ironically, Evans and Allen share the same birthday. “That’s actually how they picked me,” Evans said. “They said, ‘Who’s got a birthday? And that was it.”
Light yearalong with Evans’ casting announcement, were announced on Disney Investor Day in 2020. Evans made it clear early on that the film was an origin story about the real Buzz Lightyear and was not directly related to toy story movies. Director Angus MacLane specifically cast Evans because of his ability to find humor in very serious moments. “That’s what he does very well as Captain America,” MacLane said. “He’s not the same character, but it proved he could do it.” MacLane went on to praise Evans’ positive work ethic. “When we proposed to him, we saw how easy he was to work with and how excited he was for the project. Once he agreed to do it, we started recording, and it was really natural. it worked better.”
As for Evans possibly taking over Cap’s shield, the actor has one request. “I don’t want to disappoint anybody, but I just don’t know if, you know… It was such a good race, and I’m so happy about it, you know. It’s so valuable to me. It has to be perfect.”
Light year goes to infinity and beyond in theaters June 17.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
