Before the Thanksgiving break in the United States, Tim Allen said Disney contacted him and Tom Hanks about reprising their iconic Toy Story roles for a fifth film in the franchise. According to Allen, “one of the creators of the original series” is in charge of the new script. Allen says Bob Iger is enthusiastic about making another Toy Story sequel, and smoke on the street implies a seasoned writer is in charge of penning the screenplay. With Disney planning two Frozen sequels, it’s easy to believe they’re going back to the toy box for Toy Story 5. Still, what does a fifth film in the beloved franchise look like? Tim Allen says he has an idea involving bringing Andy, Woody and Buzz Lightyear’s original owner, back to the series.
Speaking about Toy Story 5 with The Movie Dweeb during an interview for The Santa Clauses Season 2, Allen shared his idea for an Andy-centric sequel. Allen’s idea is to tell the new story from Andy’s perspective, with the toys’ original owner gathering his old playmates one by one to give to his kids as a gift.
You can read Allen’s idea for Toy Story 5 in full below:
“This is really off the cuff. It made me very emotional yesterday because a guy—I went to get coffee at a very small little coffee bar that he grinds his own coffee—asked me the same question just yesterday… I don’t know if this is where the story is going, but what if the whole story was through Andy as an adult? [He] has children, and they just happen to be online, and the kid goes, ‘Have you ever seen this toy?’ and Andy sees that Buzz has got a hand missing, and they’re selling these vintage toys. And Andy goes and gathers all the toys up. He has to go out and find each one of them and put them back together, bring them back to his house, and start the whole thing over again with his son. And I said, ‘What a wonderful idea, it’s all through Andy’s eyes because we [the toys] made his life, and now he’s returning that favor.”
Allen’s idea makes me question when the story would take place. Andy gave his toys to a young girl named Bonnie Anderson in Toy Story 3, so how old is Bonnie in this scenario, and how many of the original toys does she still own? Is she old enough now that she’s moved on from playing with Buzz, Rex, Trixie, Mr. Pricklepants, Jessie, and all the rest? Allen says his idea is “off the cuff,” so I’m trying not to poke too many holes in his vision, but I struggle with the thought of Andy taking his toys back after such an emotional goodbye at the close of Toy Story 3. Then again, more outlandish things can happen in service of a sequel.
In addition to his work with Disney, Tim Allen is most famous for his long running ABC sitcom Home Improvement, in which we played TV fix-it host Tim “The Toolman” Taylor. It turns out that Allen has entertained the notion of perhaps doing a Home Improvement spinoff series, focused on the characters three kids, who were played by Jonathan Taylor Thomas, the troubled Zachery Ty Bryan and Taran Noah Smith. According to Allen, he remains on good terms with the whole cast and seems eager to one day reunite them.
Another movie of Allen’s that is beloved is Galaxy Quest, which has long-been rumoured to perhaps be getting a sequel. Most recently, news came down about a potential Galaxy Quest TV show happening at Paramount Plus, but with Allen so busy with his current Disney project, his participation seems unlikely – at this point.
What do you think of Allen’s idea for Toy Story 5? Do you have a plot in mind for another film starring Woody, Buzz Lightyear, and the rest of the gang? Let us know in the comments below.