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When Will Lightyear be Streaming on Disney Plus?

The release feels ... lightyears away.

The human version of Buzz Lightyear

Those of us who are older than the sun remember Buzz Lightyear’s first appearance in 1995, in Pixar’s original Toy Story (which you can catch streaming on Disney Plus). Buzz is a tricked-out action figure with the unfortunate misconception that he’s actually the Buzz Lightyear—a spacefaring action hero in a children’s cartoon—instead of a mass-produced toy based on the show. The fact that Buzz has endured for a whopping 27 years and an additional 3 Toy Story movies is a testament to how beloved he is.

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Now there’s a fifth movie coming out, simply called Lightyear. But you won’t find Woody, Bo, or the rest of the Toy Story gang in this one. In fact, you won’t find any living toys at all. Instead, Lightyear is the “real” Buzz Lightyear’s origin story, detailing how he went from a young test pilot to a full-fledged space ranger.

Buzz has an updated look, sporting an actual human face instead of a plastic toy head, and a spacesuit that’s a real suit instead of a mechanical doll body. Good for him! The voice acting has also been changed, with Tim Allen and the other actors who have voiced him throughout the years passing the torch to Chris Evans of Captain America fame.

The trailer sheds some more light on Buzz’s latest adventure, with a more epic scope and grown-up feel to it than the Toy Story movies. In the trailer, we see Buzz suiting up for launch and then approaching his ship while radio chatter plays in the background. After the launch itself, we’re treated to a montage of training and wild space adventures.

When Does Lightyear Come Out?

So how can you catch the latest incarnation of Buzz? Lightyear is slated for a theatrical release on June 17, 2022. But what if you’d rather watch it streaming? Will Lightyear be released on Disney Plus?

Here’s where things are less certain. Lightyear isn’t expected to release simultaneously on Disney+ and in theaters, like other recent films. So don’t expect to be able to watch it at home on June 17.

However! Lately Disney has been streaming its movies roughly a couple of months after their theatrical releases. Eternals, for example, came out in theaters on November 5, and then streamed on January 12, which was a little over nine weeks later. So if Lightyear comes out in theaters on June 17, you can probably expect to see it on Disney Plus in late August or early September 2022.

(Featured image via Pixar)

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Julia Glassman
Julia Glassman (she/her) holds an MFA from the Iowa Writers' Workshop, and has been covering feminism and media since 2007. As a staff writer for The Mary Sue, Julia covers Marvel movies, folk horror, sci fi and fantasy, film and TV, comics, and all things witchy. Under the pen name Asa West, she's the author of the popular zine 'Five Principles of Green Witchcraft' (Gods & Radicals Press). You can check out more of her writing at <a href="https://juliaglassman.carrd.co/">https://juliaglassman.carrd.co/.</a>

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