Chris Evans Shares What It Was Like To Replace Tim Allen As Buzz

Earlier this week, we reported that the former “Everybody Loves Raymond” star Patricia Heaton was furious that Disney replaced Tim Allen with the actor Chris Evans as the character of Buzz Lightyear in the upcoming movie Lightyear. Now, Evans is revealing what it’s really like to replace Allen in such an iconic role.

Evans Discusses Replacing Allen

While appearing on “Good Morning America” yesterday, Evans admitted that he had always been a fan of Buzz Lightyear in Toy Story when he was growing up.

“My younger version would have just been pinching himself,” he said, adding that he had “certainly studied” Allen’s performances as Buzz Lightyear in all four of the Toy Story movies before he took the role on himself.

“Look, Tim Allen is Buzz Lightyear,” he said. “What he did in those movies is so iconic and so loved, and I’d be a fool not to incorporate some of his choices into this role.”

“The character in this movie is the human version that the toy is based off of, so it makes sense to have a little bit of overlap, luckily for me,” Evans continued. “What Tim Allen did was pretty untouchable.”

Related: Patricia Heaton Blasts Disney For Not Casting Tim Allen As Buzz Lightyear

‘Can Be A Little Overwhelming’

Evans has played beloved roles before in his career, most notably playing Captain America for almost nine years. Even so, he confessed that playing roles that are so iconic “can be a little overwhelming at times.”

“I think it’s important to remember that the fan base for both these characters has an idea of who the character should be, and you have to acknowledge that,” Evans said. “That has to go into the role.”

“You can’t work on these characters in a vacuum because that fan base is why these movies get made,” he added. “So you have to honor that.”

Related: Patricia Heaton: Disney Movie Tweet Got More Attention Than Box Of Dead Babies

Heaton Sounds Off

This came after Heaton went viral online for blasting Disney for replacing Allen with Evans in this popular role.

“Saw the trailer for Buzz Lightyear and all I can say is Disney/Pixar made a HUGE mistake in not casting my pal @ofctimallen,” Heaton wrote on Twitter. “Tim Allen in the role that he originated, the role that he owns. Tim IS Buzz! Why would they completely castrate this iconic, beloved character?”

She later followed this up by tweeting, “Ok so the current Buzz Lightyear movie is an origin story – but the reason the character became so beloved is because of what Tim Allen created. Why remove the one element that makes us want to see it?#stupidHollywooddecisions.”

Director Responds

Earlier this month, director Angus MacLane tried to explain why it was decided that Evans would replace Allen.

“In this film, Buzz is the action hero,” he said. “He’s serious and ambitious and funny, but not in a goofy way that would undercut the drama.” 

“Chris Evans has the gravitas and that movie-star quality that our character needed to separate him and the movie from Tim’s version of the toy in Toy Story,” he continued. 

Lightyear hits theaters today, and it also stars Keke Palmer, James Brolin, Taika Waititi and Peter Sohn. Only time will tell if Disney made the right decision in having Allen not be a part of it.