You've Got A Friend In Me: Woody Supports Best Friend Buzz Lightyear In Tom Hanks Interview

“And as the years go by, our friendship will never die.”

The lyrics to the song “You’ve Got A Friend In Me” from Randy Newman for the classic 1995 movie “Toy Story” ring true today with actor Tom Hanks standing by Tim Allen’s side.

What Happened: Over the last few months, among the controversy surrounding the Pixar spinoff movie “Lightyear” was the decision to feature a new voice for the Buzz Lightyear character.

Allen was replaced by Chris Evans, who voices Lightyear in the new movie, which tells the origin story of the space ranger.

Allen recently said he had discussed a potential Buzz Lightyear origin story years ago.

“I’ve said a long time ago, we talked about this many years ago. It came up in one of the sessions; I said what a fun movie that would be,” Allen said in an interview with Extra.

Allen said the new team for “Lightyear” wasn’t the same team as the previous four Toy Story movies and said there was no connection to Buzz Lightyear in the new movie. He also mentioned doing a movie without Hanks, the actor who played Woody.

“There’s really no Toy Story’s Buzz without Woody.”

Hanks, who played Woody in the four Toy Story films, shared his thoughts on Allen not being cast as the voice of Lightyear in the new movie in a recent interview with CinemaBlend. Hanks, who is currently starring in “Elvis,” said he wanted to go head-to-head with his movie against “Lightyear,” if Allen was in it.

“I wanted to go head-to-head with Tim Allen, and then they didn’t let Tim Allen do it. I don’t understand that,” Hanks said.

Hanks admitted he was happy as long as people go back to the movie theaters.

Related Link: To Infinity And Not Saudi Arabia: 'Lightyear' Banned In Country Over Same-Sex Kiss 

Why It’s Important: Some have suggested that Allen, who voiced Buzz Lightyear in the first four Toy Story films, was replaced by Walt Disney Co DIS due to political leanings and comments.

The likely reason was having a fresh, new voice as the characters are different. Allen played Buzz Lightyear, a toy based on the character whereas, in the “Lightyear” movie, the character is the original space ranger that the toy was later based on.

“Lightyear” opened with $50.6 million and has grossed $106.4 million domestically according to BoxOfficeMojo. The movie's performance has been underwhelming at the box office, which could be a result of controversy around the movie and other factors.

The movie has grossed only $84 million in international markets with several countries including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates banning the film over a same-sex kiss.

Benzinga also reported previously that “Lightyear” was being released during the second weekend of summer blockbuster “Jurassic World: Dominion” and would have only three weeks before animated film “Minions: The Rise of Gru” was added to theaters to compete for kids and families movie viewing experience. Both “Jurassic World: Dominion” and “Minions: The Rise of Gru” are from Comcast Corporation CMCSA.

The last Toy Story movie, “Toy Story 4,” was released in 2019, and grossed $434 million domestically and $639.4 million internationally.

Photo: Hanks, Kathy Hutchins; Allen, Paul Smith/Featureflash Photo Agency, both via Shutterstock