Despite a galaxy of controversies surrounding the reboot of his signature character, Chris Evans has revealed he has nothing but love and admiration for the OG Buzz Lightyear: Tim Allen.
The “Captain America” actor, 41, stars as the iconic toy in the new animated film “Lightyear” and gave his take on Allen’s iteration amid Patricia Heaton-induced chatter about the latter being “castrated” by the new film.
“My younger version would have just been pinching himself,” Evans said of taking over the role during a sit-down with “Good Morning America.”
The Boston native stressed that he has been a big fan of Disney and Pixar animations — and the “untouchable” Allen — since he was a kid.
Before taking on the role to infinity and beyond, Evans admitted that he “certainly studied” Allen’s voice work on all four of the “Toy Story” films.
“Look, Tim Allen is Buzz Lightyear,” Evans went on. “What he did in those movies is so iconic and so loved, and I’d be a fool not to incorporate some of his choices into this role.”
The “Home Improvement” star, 69, portrayed the astronaut doll in the Disney flicks from 1995 until 2019.
“Knives Out” star Evans continued, “The character in this movie is the human version that the toy is based off of, so it makes sense to have a little bit of overlap, luckily for me. What Tim Allen did was pretty untouchable.”
While Evans may be on board for playing Buzz Lightyear, not everyone was happy with his casting.
Emmy winner Heaton blasted Disney for not casting Allen earlier this week and had some choice words for the mega media conglomerate.
“Saw the trailer for Buzz Lightyear and all I can say is Disney/Pixar made a HUGE mistake in not casting my pal Tim Allen in the role that he originated, the role that he owns,” the 64-year-old wrote on Tuesday in a viral tweet. “Tim IS Buzz! Why would they completely castrate this iconic, beloved character?”
The Twitterverse of course, had their thoughts about the “Everybody Loves Raymond” actress’ admission.
One user wrote back: “Do people not pay attention? Tim Allen’s Buzz is the toy based off of a person. Chris Evan’s Buzz is the real person that inspired the toy. The movie is about Buzz Lightyear the Person, not Andy’s toy.”
Writer Wajahat Ali interjected, “Tim Allen is a multi-millionaire with a Disney+ project in the works. Life is very good for him. All shall be well.”
Meanwhile, “Lightyear” director didn’t exactly help the situation by saying Evans version of the character was serious, while Allen’s toy take was “goofier” and “dumber.”
“Lightyear” flies into theaters on June 17.