by Soaring Into Infinity and Beyond is a new trailer for Disney Pixar’s summer sci-fi film “Lightyear,” a spin-off of the “Toy Story” franchise that depicts the fictional space ranger Buzz Lightyear.
In that universe, this is the classic kids’ movie that changed Andy’s life and made him want a Buzz Lightyear toy, similar to the young moviegoers who first saw “Star Wars: A New Hope” in 1977.
This new trailer for “Lightyear” reveals much more about the time travel story that audiences will absorb when the CGI animated feature arrives on Earth on June 17. “Lightyear” is directed by Angus MacLane (“Finding Dory,” “Toy Story of Terror”) and produced by Galyn Susman.
Related: best time travel movies
“The world of Buzz was always something that I was excited about,” MacLane said in a statement. “In ‘Toy Story,’ there seemed to be an amazing backstory about him as a space ranger that is only mentioned, and I always wanted to explore that world more. So my ‘Lightyear’ pitch was, ‘What was the movie that Andy Did you see that made him want a Buzz Lightyear toy? He wanted to see that movie. And now I’m lucky enough to be able to do it.”
In this second trailer, Buzz sends a mission log to Star Command before being strapped into a new experimental space plane while marooned on a planet 4.2 million light-years from Earth. Stranded with him on this remote world are his commander and his young crew.
This needle-nosed ship gets a proper test with its first hyperdrive test flight that shoots the famed space ranger into a ringed purple portal. After going through a “2001: A Space Odyssey”-style stargate, Buzz and his cute robot cat find themselves on a shadowy world that looks a lot like Dagobah from “Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back.”
The twist is that he’s actually back on the rogue planet he left, but it’s been 62 years, seven months, and five days since his original departure. Now, he teams up with three inexperienced recruits called the Junior Zap Patrol, including the adult granddaughter of the original Commander Hawthorne, to mount a defense against a menacing alien battle cruiser commanded by the evil Emperor Zurg and his army of hostile robot soldiers. .
Chris Evans replaces Tim Allen and provides the voice of Buzz Lightyear for this version of the sassy space ranger, and from what we’ve heard in previous “Lightyear” teasers, he’s nailed it.
Keke Palmer, Dale Soules and Taika Waititi are on board the mission as Star Command’s three newest recruits. Buzz’s robotic cat Sox is voiced by Peter Sohn. Uzo Aduba, James Brolin, Mary McDonald-Lewis, Efren Ramirez and Isiah Whitlock Jr. also join the impressive cast.
Fresh off his triumphant and haunting score for “The Batman” from director Matt Reeves, superstar composer and Pixar veteran Michael Giacchino has written the score for “Lightyear.”
The Hollywood veteran has already achieved the trifecta of winning an Academy Award, a Golden Globe and a Grammy for his original score for “Up.” Other Pixar projects for which he has provided songs include “The Incredibles”, “Ratatouille”, “Cars 2”, “Inside Out”, “Coco”, “Incredibles 2” and “Toy Story of Terror”.
So far, this time-shifted sci-fi adventure looks like a certified hit before it even lands, and should be on every aspiring space ranger’s must-see summer movie lists.
Disney Pixar’s “Lightyear” enters our orbit on June 17. For more space movies, check out our full list of upcoming sci-fi movies.
