There’s about to be a new movie set in the Toy Story universe with Lightyear, Pixar’s second animated film to release in 2022 and the fifth in the Toy Story franchise — here’s how long before Toy Story the new movie is set. Lightyear isn’t about Buzz Lightyear the toy, but about Buzz Lightyear the man, the astronaut who ultimately inspired the Tim Allen-voiced space cadet. First announced in December 2020, Lightyear adds yet another layer to the Toy Story universe.
While Woody’s toy production took inspiration from the Western children’s TV show, Woody’s Roundup, about a cowboy sheriff and his friends, Buzz Lightyear was seemingly inspired by the fictional astronaut of the same name (the film’s marketing is somewhat confusing about this, though it’s implied Buzz Lightyear the “hero” is, in fact, still a movie character in the world of Toy Story). Lightyear’s trailer delves a bit into the history of the man, who himself is influenced by real-life astronaut Buzz Aldrin, showing his first shuttle takeoff and a plethora of intriguing space adventures. It also includes the iconic green and white space suit toy Buzz dons throughout the Toy Story films.
With Lightyear set within the same universe as Woody et al, it’s possible the animated feature takes place decades before Andy ever received Buzz the action figure. Toy Story is set in 1995. By the time Andy gets his hands on the toy version of Buzz, the space ranger is already fairly popular; so much so that Andy’s friends are surprised his mom was able to get one from the store. Lightyear suggests its events could be happening in the late 1960s or 1970s, which would be closer to the moon landing that made Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong household names. However, considering the action figure Buzz was such a hot commodity in Toy Story, it’s more likely that Lightyear is set in the late 80s or early 90s to coincide with the height of fame and attention Buzz was achieving.
That timeline aligns with that of the Toy Story films. It might have taken a while for Buzz Lightyear the astronaut to reach a state of popularity that garnered the production of a toy. In the first film, Andy is turning six, which means he likely saw Buzz take flight at the age of four or five. Lightyear was likely released in 1993, at the latest. The animated film achieves distinct similarities with Star Wars and other sci-fi fare, so it could be a situation where the Buzz Lightyear movie is set in the future — aliens and other planets hint as much — but it was produced a few years before Andy becomes the owner of action figure Buzz.
To that end, Lightyear is very meta because it’s a movie about a person who is still fictionalized, from an in-universe movie that inspired Toy Story’s Buzz and his programmed spaced adventures (including Star Command) much like Woody’s Roundup brought Sheriff Woody the toy to life. Ultimately, Lightyear will eventually set the record straight on where in the Toy Story timeline it falls when it’s released in June 2022.