Chris Evans shared his thoughts on how his new role as the voice of Buzz Lightyear in Disney Pixar's Lightyear is very similar to another heroic leader he used to play: Captain America.
Speaking to THR, Evans described the role model qualities that the iconic Toy Story character and the First Avenger share, while also highlighting their differences. "The characters themselves have a lot of similar overlap in terms of their sense of responsibility and leadership," said Evans. "But they’re very different men, so you take the things that are useful and you leave the things that make Cap, Cap."
Much like his former Super Soldier role, Evan's Buzz Lightyear is portrayed as a real space ranger who finds himself 4.2 million light-years from earth on a hostile planet. Buzz has to lead a group of recruits on a mission to return home while facing off against 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 cast me," said Evans. "They said, 'Who has his birthday?' And that was it."
Lightyear, along with the casting announcement of Evans, was announced during Disney Investor Day in 2020. Evans made clear early on that the film was an origin story about the real Buzz Lightyear and not directly connected to the Toy Story movies. Director Angus MacLane specifically cast Evans because of his ability to find humor in some very serious moments. "That's what he does as Captain America really well," said MacLane. "This is not the same character, but that proved he could do it." MacLane went on to praise Evans' positive work ethic. "When we pitched it 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 a really natural fit; it couldn't have gone better."
As for Evans possibly picking up Cap's shield again, the actor has one demand. "I don't want to disappoint anybody, but I just don't know if, you know... It was such a good run, and I am so happy with it, you know. It's so precious to me. It would have to be perfect."
Lightyear goes to infinity and beyond in theaters on June 17th.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
