It won't be a long wait to watch Lightyear at home, as it's coming to Disney+ early next month. It was announced by Disney and Pixar that the animated feature will start streaming on Aug. 3 exclusively on Disney+. The streaming premiere date comes 47 days after the film had its premiere in theaters on June 17. A teaser has been released touting the film's Disney+ premiere date, and you can check that out below.
Angus MacLane directed Lightyear and co-wrote the screenplay with Jason Headley. The film serves as a loose spinoff of the Toy Story films by following an alternate version of Buzz Lightyear as the character would have appeared in an in-universe movie about the space hero. Because it's not the toy version of Buzz that's given to Andy in the first Toy Story movie, Chris Evans takes over the role of Buzz Lightyear with other cast members including Keke Palmer, Peter Sohn, Taika Waititi, Dale Soules, James Brolin, and Uzo Aduba.
Lightyear Fell Short of Expectations With Its Theatrical Premiere
It was a bit of a risk having a new actor playing an alternate version of Buzz in Lightyear, and it did not pay off at the box office. The film did not match the success of its predecessors in the Toy Story universe, falling short with its performance at movie theaters. It had originally been estimated to earn anywhere from $70 million to over $100 million with its premiere, though it debuted with just over $50 million. With a budget of $200 million with millions more spent on marketing costs, the film was a bomb for Disney and Pixar.
What was good news for Lightyear is that the reviews were on the positive side, the film having scored a 75% rating at Rotten Tomatoes. But that may not be enough to warrant a greenlight for a sequel, given the costs involved in making the movie. Director Angus MacLane has suggested that he'd be up for doing a sequel even if the odds are probably against Lightyear 2 happening anytime soon.
"I think there are more stories to be told, whether or not we will pursue them is unclear," he said, via A.frame. "It's a movie I've always wanted to see. So, naturally, I was going to take the time to figure out what happens next. If nothing else, so that I knew. So, I'm excited about where it goes. Whether or not I'll share that remains to be seen."
MacLane added, "Well, I'm pleased that Sox has resonated externally as well as he has internally [at Pixar]. I'd often wonder what he was doing to keep his mind limber while Buzz was away. Maybe there's something to that."
If you didn't watch the film at theaters, you can catch Lightyear streaming on Disney+ on Aug. 3, 2022.