While Lightyear was a failure and Toy Story 5 represents a change of direction for Pixar, the sequel doesn't necessarily mean the end of Lightyear 2.
Confirmation that Toy Story 5 is happening – while exciting for fans of the franchise – raises doubts about the future of spin-offs such as Lightyear. Instead of a more traditional follow-up to its hugely successful sequel Toy Story 4, Pixar decided to keep the franchise alive in unconventional fashion in 2022 with the release of Lightyear – a somewhat convoluted take on the titular character purporting to be a real movie released in Andy's Toy Story universe.
SCREENRANT VIDEO OF THE DAY Given the near-perfect end to the Toy Story saga in Toy Story 4, the necessity of a Toy Story 5 is somewhat debatable. Having given lead character Woody a satisfying send-off while avoiding undoing the heartfelt conclusion of the Andy arc in Toy Story 3, Toy Story 4 seemed to have pulled off the impossible. Tempting fate with a fifth movie could therefore be criticized as somewhat foolish.
Beyond the studio's plans for the Toy Story universe, however, Toy Story 5 could suggest a more risk-averse future. Had Lightyear proved a success, it's likely that it could have provided a blueprint for other Pixar franchises to expand with other more innovative spin-offs. Its failure, however, means that Pixar will probably pursue a more direct sequel route for many of its projects. All of this makes the prognosis fairly gloomy for Lightyear 2.
A Lightyear Direct Or Spiritual Sequel Can Still Happen Though the immediate future does not seem promising, there is nothing to say that Toy Story 5 is the definitive end of a Lightyear franchise. In fact, Pixar's decision to place the spin-off within its own meta-universe means that it can keep the events of the two franchises separate without overly worrying about continuity or gaping plot holes.
A second factor is that Lightyear's approach – however unsuccessful the first time around – could still be used as inspiration for a spiritual sequel. Part of Lightyear's failure was that audiences were unsure what to expect and were surprised not to see the Buzz they know and love. Now that that shock is out of the way, there could be scope for using Lightyear's premise to create a freer, less lore-dependent tangent in the Toy Story universe.
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