All the Buzz About Toy Story 5
Ready for Pixar to toy with your emotions again? Toy Story 5 is officially happening. That’s right, the fact that Tom Hanks’s Woody and Tim Allen’s Buzz Lightyear went their separate ways at the end of the last film in the franchise couldn’t stop this IP from continuing. Toy 5story has been confirmed for a while now — Bob Iger first shared the news of another sequel in Disney’s Q1 earnings call in February 2023 — but as the release date approaches, we’ve been getting more and more official details about what the directors are pulling out of their toybox this time. Based on what we’ve learned about the plot so far, it seems like this movie’s message will hit different for iPad kids (or at least their parents). Below, everything we know about Toy Story 5, from who the villain of the cast is to what happens in the opening sequence.
Is Woody in Toy Story 5?
Yes, Tom Hanks is back as Woody. We last saw Woody leave Bonnie and embrace life as a lost toy, but he’s found his way back to his old friends for this film. And we already know why: Joan Cusack’s Jessie has asked Woody to return to help tackle problems caused by the film’s modern villain, per Screen Rant’s report on a Pixar preview event in June. It’s worth noting that Woody might not be as much of a main character this time around. Tim Allen told WIVB in April that the film is “a lot about Jessie,” though he confirmed that Buzz and Woody “do realign” in it.
What is Toy Story 5 going to be about?
It’s a “toy meets tech” story, Pixar chief creative officer Pete Docter said at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival on June 13, per Entertainment Weekly. Bonnie is now eight years old, and it apparently will take more than a spork with googly eyes to hold her attention in a world of electronics. The villain of the film is a frog-shaped device called Lily Pad. “It’s a new tech tablet, which allows Bonnie to chat with their friends and play games and other things too,” Docter explained. “But Lily can also be a bit sneaky and prickly to be around. And because, in her mind, it’s a lot better to be socialized, and Bonnie needs to move on from toys.”
A kids tablet LilyPad will be a villain in ‘TOY STORY 5’
— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) June 13, 2025
The tablet has a different perception of what’s best for Bonnie in contrast to the toys. pic.twitter.com/5R0qDGyQGt
How can old-fashioned toys compete with the appeal of the internet? To answer that question, Jessie — the new leader of Bonnie’s room — decides that they need Woody’s help. But Docter teased the potential tension of the toy sheriff’s return, noting, “It’s been a while since they’ve all seen each other, and he and Buzz don’t always see eye to eye.”
Who’s in the cast of Toy Story 5?
Hanks, Allen, and Cusack are all reprising their roles, but the voice behind Lily Pad has not yet been announced. Meanwhile, Conan O’Brien announced in May that he will voice a character named Smarty Pants, and Deadline confirmed in April that Ernie Hudson will take over for the late Carl Weathers as the voice of action figure Combat Carl.
Is there a Toy Story 5 trailer?
This is all we’ve got for now, folks. Woody, Jessie, and Buzz smile at the camera in a 30-second clip that debuted at D23 in August 2024. Looks like it’s still too soon for us to even get a single line of dialogue.
What happens in the opening sequence of Toy Story 5?
Multiple outlets that saw a preview have described a opening sequence where Buzz Lightyear wakes up on a remote beach and is disoriented to find many other Buzz toys that apparently washed ashore with him in a crashed shipping container. They eventually build a fire and look to the stars, triggering them to remember to collectivelypledge their allegiance to Star Command. Reportedly, the sequence ends with all the Buzzes building rafts and sailing determinedly off into the ocean.
Who’s directing Toy Story 5?
Finding Nemo and Wall-E director Andrew Stanton (who also has screenwriting credits on every movie in the Toy Story franchise) and Elemental producer McKenna Harris will co-direct from a script by Stanton.
When is Toy Story 5 coming out?
Toy Story 5 is scheduled to release in theaters on June 19, 2026.
Is this the last Toy Story movie?
Maybe? It was previously widely speculated that Toy Story 4 would be the final installment of the franchise, and look how that turned out. Filmmakers themselves once thought Toy Story 2 would be the last movie, producer Jonas Rivera told SyFy Wire in 2019. Given that we’re now up to film number five, who knows what could happen? As long as it’s profitable, perhaps Pixar will keep making sequels to infinity and beyond.
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