The beloved Pixar franchise is getting another chapter, according to a recent review from The Daily Targum, which declares that Toy Story 5 "miraculously keeps this franchise alive" — a headline that suggests the film clears a bar that wasn't guaranteed after the divisive Toy Story 4.
Why This Has the Fancasting Community Buzzing
On the surface, Toy Story seems like a franchise where recasting is a non-starter — Tom Hanks is Woody, Tim Allen is Buzz, full stop. But the reality is more complicated. The passing of Don Rickles (Mr. Potato Head) and Jim Varney (Slinky Dog) already forced Pixar to make difficult recasting decisions in prior installments. And with each new film, the question hangs in the air: at what point does the studio consider refreshing the ensemble with new voices? Toy Story 5 puts that conversation front and center again.
There's also the matter of new characters. Pixar has a history of introducing fresh faces with each sequel, and that means open roles — which is exactly where fancasting gets interesting.
What myCast Fans Are Already Pitching
The myCast community has been ahead of the curve on this one. Across multiple fan-built stories, voters have been workshopping both legacy roles and new characters with some genuinely inspired choices.
Over on the Toy Story 5 story with 39 roles, fans have been filling out a surprisingly deep roster. Blake Clark — who actually has voiced Slinky Dog in official Pixar projects — earns 2 votes for the role, which reads less like a fan dream and more like a sensible continuity pick. Jeff Bergman gets 2 votes for Mr. Potato Head, another nod toward voice acting continuity. The wildcard entries are harder to explain — Ryan Reynolds for Deadpool and Willem Dafoe for Green Goblin appearing in a Toy Story 5 story suggests some fans are having a lot of fun with the concept of toy characters drawn from other franchises. That's actually not a terrible creative idea for a Pixar plot.
The story with 16 roles takes a different swing entirely, with earning 2 votes for a character named Lillypad — a new role that points to fan enthusiasm for original additions to the toy box. Meanwhile, the general dream-cast story offers a fun parallel universe take: leads with 2 votes for Buzz Lightyear, while picks up a vote for Woody, gets a nod for Jessie, and the inspired pairing of and as the Potato Heads absolutely deserves more votes than it has.