Conan O'Brien cast in ‘Toy Story 5,' says his role is better than Woody or Buzz
Emeryville's Pixar and parent company Disney revealed the casting of O'Brien during the Consumer Products section of Disney's Licensing Expo presentation on Monday, May 19. He'll fill the role of a new character, Smarty Pants, which joins Woody (Hanks) and Buzz Lightyear (Allen) in the toy box.
O'Brien followed up with an Instagram video, calling the casting 'crazy.' In a good way, of course. The host of the HBO/Max travel series 'Conan O'Brien Must Go' joked that he had initially sought the role of Woody.
'They told me they had already promised the role to Tom Hanks,' O'Brien said. 'I was like, 'Uhhh, you kinda been there done that, you know? You're in a bit of a rut, don't you think?' … I said, 'OK, how about Buzz Lightyear? Let me guess: Tim Allen. ... Guys, you gotta think outside the box.''
O'Brien then said when he was shown the new character of Smarty Pants, he called it 'the best character of them all. … I don't even wanna play Woody or Buzz anymore, even if they beg me.'
The plot details for 'Toy Story 5,' set for release on June 19, 2026, are under wraps, but the theme is said to be how the traditional toys are dealing with the modern-day threat to children's attention in electronics and video games.
Andrew Stanton, who has been a part of every 'Toy Story' film since the 1995 original, is the director for this installation, with McKenna Harris as co-director and Jessica Choi as producer.
Pixar is riding high after the success of ' Inside Out 2,' which came out last year and briefly held the all-time record for highest grossing animated film at about $1.7 billion. Its next film, 'Elio,' is due out June 20.
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