Did Disney dump Tim Allen because he supports Donald Trump?
Tim Allen, the man who brought the 'Toy Story' character Buzz Lightyear to life will not be returning for the highly anticipated spin-off. Rather, Disney has roped in Marvel actor Chris Evans to do the job. While fans weren't particularly pissed about this change, they had concerns as he has voiced the character in every 'Toy Story' movie. So, what is it exactly that pushed Disney over the edge and drop Tim Allen out? Now, it is largely believed that it is because he supports former POTUS Donald Trump.
It is now rumored that Tim Allen was dropped out from this signature project due to his endorsement of Donald Trump and that he was present at the President's inauguration. The latter is said to be the root cause of this commotion. It could also be that the actor, who's a perfect example of rags to riches, gave a lot of controversial statements that the mammoth production house didn't put up with and decided to leave him for 'Lightyear'. Back in 2021, in support of Trump, the 69-year-old actor said, "Once I realized the last president pissed people off, I kinda liked that. It was fun to just not say anything. Didn't join in the lynching crow," during an appearance on Monday's episode of "WTF With Marc Maron."
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Allen has always been vocal about his political views, and he was the same when he appeared on Jimmy Kimmel's show after the infamous 2017 inauguration. He said, "You get beat up if you don't believe what everybody believes. This is like Thirties Germany. I don't know what happened. If you're not part of the group, 'You know what we believe is right,' I go, 'Well, I might have a problem with that.' I'm a comedian, I like going on both sides." The actor who voiced the beloved animated character from 1995 to 2019 told Entertainment Weekly, "I’ve met [Trump] at [a] charity event years ago, and that certainly doesn’t fit with the man who tweets. I’ve met a lot of people in private whose public persona is a bit off. My perception is 'let’s see what he gets done.'"He continued, "Do I like him or agree with him? … I don’t know."
Chris Evans talks about Lightyear
Amid all the drama and Disney getting caught in a dramatic battle with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis' 'Don't Say Gay' bill, the 'Captain America' actor seems to be relaxing and enjoying the fact that he got this role which is another highlight of his tremendous career. During his appearance on 'Good Morning America' on June 16, Thursday, the actor said, "My younger version would have just been pinching himself." The actor complimented Tim Allen and said, "Look, Tim Allen is Buzz Lightyear," he said. "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 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."
'Lightyear' director Angus MacLane explained in his interview with Vanity Fair that, "Tim’s version of Buzz is a little goofier and is a little dumber, and so he is the comic relief. In this film, Buzz is the action hero. He’s serious and ambitious and funny, but not in a goofy way that would undercut the drama. Chris Evans has the gravitas and that movie-star quality that our character needed to separate him and the movie from Tim’s version of the toy in ‘Toy Story."