Remember how when, back in 2017, people were absolutely convinced that the sci-fi horror flick Life was a “stealth prequel to Venom (it’s kind of ironic, in the Alanis sense, that its director, Daniel Espinosa, would go on to direct Morbius)?” Well, we’re kind of convinced that Lightyear, Pixar’s big return to theaters after a long pandemic hiatus, is actually a stealth prequel to Chex Quest. That’s right: The shovelware Doom knock-off that was included in hundreds of boxes of Chex cereal in the ’90s has been poised for a comeback for some time now — hell, you can find a totally remastered version of it on Steam — and we don’t know of any other media property that this could possibly be taken from. Disney dropped a trailer for the project late on Monday, and honestly, we’ve got our eyes out for any and all potential Chex-related easter eggs and lore hints.
Peep it:
Here’s a really strange synopsis, which features quotes from director Angus MacLaine instead of tangible details or boilerplate. It’s kind of cool, but it also somewhat feels like we’re reading clips from a TED talk:
“‘Lightyear’ is the definitive origin story of Buzz Lightyear — the hero who inspired the toy — follows the legendary Space Ranger on an intergalactic adventure. ‘Buzz’s world was always something I was excited about,’ said director Angus MacLane. ‘In ‘Toy Story,’ there seemed to be this incredible backstory to him being a Space Ranger that’s only touched upon, and I always wanted to explore that world further. So my ‘Lightyear’ pitch was, ‘What was the movie that Andy saw that made him want a Buzz Lightyear toy?’ I wanted to see that movie. And now I’m lucky enough to get to make it.’
Joining the previously announced Chris Evans, who lends his voice to Buzz, are Keke Palmer, Dale Soules and Taika Waititi as a group of ambitious recruits. Peter Sohn voices Buzz’s robot companion, Sox, and the cast also includes the voices of Uzo Aduba, James Brolin, Mary McDonald-Lewis, Efren Ramirez and Isiah Whitlock Jr. ‘The cast for ‘Lightyear’ is truly a dream team,’ said MacLane. ‘Each of the performers immediately inhabited their character, which gave us the opportunity to play a bit during recording sessions. This resulted in a level of specificity that elevated the material and brought additional depth to the characters’ relationships. It has been a privilege to work with such a talented and generous cast.'”
Lightyear hits theaters on June 17, and you have to wonder if every other Pixar director is secretly pretty pissed about this, given that all of their projects got shunted off to Disney+ over the last two years. Of course, this would be the movie that brings them back to theaters.