Confirmation that Toy Story 5 is happening – while exciting for fans of the franchise – raises doubts about the future of spin-offs such as Lightyear. Instead of a more traditional follow-up to its hugely successful sequel Toy Story 4, Pixar decided to keep the franchise alive in unconventional fashion in 2022 with the release of Lightyear – a somewhat convoluted take on the titular character purporting to be a real movie released in Andy's Toy Story universe. However, mixed reviews and disastrous box office numbers raised understandable questions about the viability of this approach. Toy Story 5 news now seemingly puts plans for Lightyear 2 into even greater jeopardy.
Given the near-perfect end to the Toy Story saga in Toy Story 4, the necessity of a Toy Story 5 is somewhat debatable. Having given lead character Woody a satisfying send-off while avoiding undoing the heartfelt conclusion of the Andy arc in Toy Story 3, Toy Story 4 seemed to have pulled off the impossible. Tempting fate with a fifth movie could therefore be criticized as somewhat foolish. However, the relative failure of Lightyear and wider Pixar plans means that the Toy Story 5 announcement is somewhat less surprising than it might seem. After all, the film barely made back its $200 million budget – a major blow for the studio. Nevertheless, while Toy Story 5 indicates a change of course, there is still some hope for Lightyear 2.
What Toy Story 5 Means For A Lightyear Sequel
In the immediate future, plans for Toy Story 5 suggest that Lightyear 2 will not happen any time soon. Aside from many other major changes to the tried and tested Toy Story formula, Lightyear's "movie-within-a-universe" premise proved that spin-offs that fail to focus on a familiar version of the character audiences know and love may not generate as much interest as the original source material. This explains Pixar's about-face and decision to focus on proven popular IPs with serious brand recognition. While Buzz Lightyear is a recognizable name, he isn't in the same league as the whole Toy Story crew.
Beyond the studio's plans for the Toy Story universe, however, Toy Story 5 could suggest a more risk-averse future. Had Lightyear proved a success, it's likely that it could have provided a blueprint for other Pixar franchises to expand with other more innovative spin-offs. Its failure, however, means that Pixar will probably pursue a more direct sequel route for many of its projects. All of this makes the prognosis fairly gloomy for Lightyear 2.
A Lightyear Direct Or Spiritual Sequel Can Still Happen
Though the immediate future does not seem promising, there is nothing to say that Toy Story 5 is the definitive end of a Lightyear franchise. In fact, Pixar's decision to place the spin-off within its own meta-universe means that it can keep the events of the two franchises separate without overly worrying about continuity or gaping plot holes. Toy Story 5 could even provide more information about the Lightyear movie within its own narrative, laying the foundations for a follow-up and tempering audience expectations. As a result, in time, there's nothing to say Lightyear 2 can't happen because of Toy Story 5.
A second factor is that Lightyear's approach – however unsuccessful the first time around – could still be used as inspiration for a spiritual sequel. Part of Lightyear's failure was that audiences were unsure what to expect and were surprised not to see the Buzz they know and love. Now that that shock is out of the way, there could be scope for using Lightyear's premise to create a freer, less lore-dependent tangent in the Toy Story universe. For instance, a Woody spin-off focused on the character's adventures in Woody's Roundup could be seen as a spiritual successor to Lightyear, if not a direct sequel. As such, there is still hope for both Lightyear as a property and the storytelling approach that it innovated, despite Toy Story 5.