Lightyear 2
If you enjoyed Lightyear, Pixar’s Toy Story spin-off movie that recently landed in cinemas and on Disney’s streaming service, you might be interested in a sequel. If you enjoyed it that much, you might also be hoping for follow-up movies that take you into infinity and beyond!
But will we see space ranger Buzz Lightyear again? Or have we seen the last of the space ranger who inspired the fictional toy from Pixar’s earlier movies? Here’s what we know:
What is Lightyear about?
Lightyear follows the adventures of Buzz Lightyear, a space ranger who finds himself marooned on a hostile planet with his commander and crew. Buzz tries to find his way back home but as this is a journey that sees him travel through time as well as through space, he remains young while the people back on the planet age faster than he does.
Complicating matters for the dutiful ranger is the evil Zurg, who arrives on the planet with his army of robots. It’s up to Buzz, his faithful robotic cat Sox, and his team of young recruits to counter this alien threat before Zurg causes catastrophe in the universe.
Will there be a Lightyear 2?
At the time of writing, Lightyear 2 has not been confirmed. As the first movie wasn’t a huge box office success, it could be supposed that a sequel is not on the cards.
However, Lightyear director Angus MacLane is open to the idea of a follow-up movie. When speaking to Digital Spy about the possibility of a sequel, he said:
“I suppose so…I mean, the mind of the filmmakers right now is pretty squarely on vacation, so it’s kind of hard to sign up for at least five more years of excitement, but I think we’d be open to it, certainly.”
So, never say never. If you are hoping for Lightyear 2, there is a chance that it could happen. But as we said, Lightyear didn’t do too well at the box office. It grossed $226 million worldwide against a $200 million production budget, which isn’t that much of a profit. However, it might be that Lightyear acquires a lot of new fans through Disney+ so public demand and viewing figures could instigate a sequel in the future.
What could Lightyear 2 be about?
There is a whole universe for Buzz and his friends to explore so the story options are limitless. But we suspect the sequel will bring back Zurg if it is given the green light. It’s clear from the post-credits scene in Lightyear that Zurg survived Buzz’s attempt to destroy him so he could still turn up to cause trouble for the space ranger in the future.
The sequel could also focus on Buzz’s crew rather than the ranger himself. Disney has a habit of releasing spin-off movies on a lower budget, so it might be that we see his intrepid team return for adventures of their own on Disney’s streaming service. Alternatively, we could see a TV series based on the movie with the team of Sox, Izzy, Mo and Darby at the centre of each story.
This is purely speculation as there is no confirmation of any further adventures with Buzz or his team of junior recruits at this stage.
When could Lightyear 2 be released?
Development on Lightyear began in 2016 and it was 6 years before the movie was finally ready for release so it could be that Lightyear 2 has a similar development cycle. So, if development begins in 2023, we might have a few years to wait before Lightyear 2 hits our screens.
Of course, there is the chance that the movie could be released sooner rather than later as the team at Pixar already have an animation style in place. As such, they won’t have to work on character models for Buzz and his crew so a sequel could be fast-tracked if they base the animation on what has come before. In theory, this could be within the next 2-3 years if they don’t need to embark on a longer development cycle.
This is all we know for now but we aim to update this page if and when a sequel is announced!
Would you like to see a sequel to Lightyear? What did you think of Buzz’s solo adventure? What would you like to see in the next movie? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!