Ok. Ok. I was not prepared to see the top of Buzz Lightyear's head today. I'm not sure any of us were. He's a brunette. I don't know what I was expecting. Maybe for him to be bald.

But we soldier on.

Ok, full disclosure: I was a Toy Story baby. The first movie came out the year I was born (yes, elder millennials, I AM that old now), and from ages two to five I carried a Woody doll around with me everywhere. I was Woody for Halloween when I was four. I am NOT the reviewer to go to if you're upset that they're making ANOTHER Toy Story movie (because honestly, at this point, Pixar can do whatever they want forever.) I almost squealed out loud on the subway this morning when I saw the new trailer for Lightyear, soon to be the fifth full length Toy Story film.

That said, I will say that I have no idea what this movie is about. That's probably on purpose - with a release date as far out as this summer, Pixar probably wants to leave room for possible script alterations. (Remember when the pig from Moana was featured in basically every trailer and then in the movie her sidekick was a chicken? That's what they don't want.)

We can pick a few details out from the clips that flash by: A red planet makes it look like they're going to Mars, or a Mars-like place; A sequence featuring a slingshot around the sun (plus a few monster fighting shots) show us that clearly this movie is not limited to any pretend realism the Toy Story Universe may or may not have; and we know from the scene where Buzz frustratingly does NOT complete his famous catchphrase that he has a friend (one who does NOT have blue skin and red hair) with whom he shares a secret handshake.

There isn't that much that they need to tell us, however, that die hard Toy Story fans don't already know - probably. That's because back in 2000, there was a Star Wars/Trek-style spin off series on Disney Channel called Buzz Lightyear of Star Command. Thanks to that series, which ran for 62 episodes, we have some idea what Lightyear will be about.

First of all, we know that this movie is also a movie within the Toy Story universe. We're watching the movie Andy would have watched to inspire his love for Buzz - or, possibly, an adult style-spinoff playing on themes of nostalgia for Andy's childhood in a more mature adult way (which would make sense given that Andy has always been the character that represented the movie's intended audience.)

We also know that Buzz is a Space Ranger in an organization called Star Command - a Captain who wrote about half of the book of procedures for the intergalactic agency, set in a galaxy far away from our own.

But is this a prequel set before any of that happens? Buzz looks particularly young in these shots - though it might just be that unexpected hair - and he seems a little less competent and sure of himself than the cartoon version of him was 20 years ago. There are also a lot more humans around compared to how many there were the Star Command base we're used to seeing Buzz in.

So what exactly is Lightyear? Long story short, even though this trailer was much longer than the teaser - and features our very first listen of Chris Evans as Buzz - it doesn't really tell us much about the movie. Will Zurg make an appearance? What about Mira? We don't know, but I think that's what they intended. For me, this trailer felt like having my uncritical childhood excitement and curiousity resurrected - I don't care what Lightyear is about, I cannot wait to see it and find out.

At least, with the release scheduled for Summer 2022, I'll have more time to adjust to the mental image of Buzz Lightyear with a...buzz...cut. (Ugh.)

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Chris Evans