Why is someone other than the original voice of Buzz Lightyear, Tim Allen, voicing the space ranger?
"We didn't want the film to be a rehash of 'Toy Story' at all because then you're always comparing it to that film," MacLane said. "I wanted Buzz to be the spirit of that character, but not the exact same performance."
"When we actually were working with Chris, it was really important that we not try to emulate the original vocal performance," MacLane continued, adding that Evans was the team's first and only choice for the role.
He added: "We needed a leading man to be someone that was cartoonishly heroic, but could bring some subtlety to that and also find some humor in that without undercutting the drama and without being too goofy or too arrogant. That's a really difficult line to straddle."
Producer Galyn Susman said Evans was brought onto the film well over a year before any other cast members so the team could work out who Buzz was, what his arc needed to be, and how he would grow.
"Chris was very influential in all of that, for sure," Susman said.