Tom Hanks is sticking up for Tim Allen.
In an interview with CinemaBlend last month, Hanks, 65, shared his thoughts on Lightyear, the new movie about the origin story of Buzz Lightyear.
When asked if it would be strange for him to be in theaters opposite a Buzz Lightyear movie with Elvis out at the same time, Hanks, who voiced Woody in the Toy Story franchise, said, “I wanted to go head to head with Tim Allen and they didn’t let Tim Allen do it.” He continued, “I don’t understand that.”
In the new animated prequel to the hit family franchise, Chris Evans, 41, voices Buzz Lightyear, the fictional space hero whom the toy Buzz (voiced in the Toy Story films by Allen, 69) is based on.
Though Hanks would’ve liked Allen to reprise his role, he said he’s “looking forward” to watching the new movie. “Just as long as people come back to the motion picture theater,” he said, “I want to go back in the theater with a bunch of strangers and leave with something in common.”
In a recent interview with Extra, Allen also shared his feelings on the new movie.
“The short answer is I’ve stayed out of this ’cause it has nothing to do [with my character],” Allen told the outlet.
“This is a whole new team that really had nothing to do with the first movies,” he added.
But at the end of the day, “There’s really no Toy Story Buzz without Woody,” Allen said, Hanks’ character of Woody.
And while he thinks the new film has “a wonderful story,” Allen noted, “It just doesn’t seem to have any connection to the toy.”
“I wish there was a better connection,” he said.
“The movie Toy Story was such an impactful film. It’s so iconic and the characters had such variety. They just offer something that’s so relatable,” said Evans in a Lightyear behind-the-scenes featurette shared exclusively with PEOPLE earlier this month.
“This film is the origin story of Buzz Lightyear. It’s the story that made Andy and his friends want to go buy a Buzz Lightyear toy,” he added. “I’m a massive Pixar fan. … It’s unlike any Pixar movie to date.”
