One of the most anticipated films coming out this year is Pixar’s space epic
Lightyear. The film is set to tell the official origin story of the man behind the famous toy. The action-adventure film is set to release in June, and Pixar dropped a new TV spot during The Oscars to get fans even more excited.
The ninety-second TV spot mainly contains old footage showing the various stages of Buzz’s new intergalactic mission. However, the most exciting thing about this trailer is the confirmation that this film is only coming to theaters and IMAX. This will give both fans of the studio and Pixar themselves a massive sigh of relief. Since the release of
Soul in 2020, all of Pixar’s releases have gone straight to Disney+, which Pixar as a company has been very against. The company has been vocal about this decision because, as their films went straight to streaming during the pandemic, Disney proper animated films like
Raya and the Last Dragon and
Encanto still had a theatrical release of some kind.
This trailer further showcases
Lightyear's stunning visuals, great action, and fun space adventure vibe, but the notion that this film is coming to theaters should be the biggest takeaway here. While it was disappointing that amazing films like
Luca and
Turning Red went straight to Disney+,
Lightyear seems like the perfect film to bring Pixar back to the big screen where they belong.
Buzz Lightyear is a legacy character for the company, and it is going to be exciting to see what this new take on the character will be like. From this new spot and the various other trailers,
Chris Evans seems like a great fit to take on this iconic spaceman. It all feels like a bigger, more exciting, version of the underrated direct-to-video film Pixar did in the early 2000s,
Buzz Lightyear of Star Command: The Adventure Begins. That film similarly followed the “real” Buzz as he took on the evil Emperor Zurg with a ragtag team of Star Command agents. Seeing how menacing Zurg is in this new film brings back nostalgic memories of watching
The Adventure Begins, which was later spun off in its own Saturday morning cartoon.
Everything, from the humor to the massive scale to the fun new characters, makes this feel like this film is the most ambitious thing Pixar has ever done. That is saying a lot, given their massive résumé of groundbreaking work.
Lightyear appears to be going to infinity and beyond what has been done in the animated film genre up to this point. Also, adorable characters like Socks, Buzz’s personal robot cat, look like they are going to steal the show.
It is great to say confidently that
Lightyear is only coming to theaters and seeing the film in IMAX is going to be a real treat. Just imagining the sound design of this space epic with all the rocket fueled action shaking the theater is sure to make any Pixar fan feel giddy inside.
Lightyear will blast off into theaters on June 17.
