Hollywood legend Tom Hanks has shared a never-before-heard revelation about Pixar’s beloved animated franchise, Toy Story, marking a nostalgic moment for fans worldwide.
The 69-year-old Oscar-winning actor, who has voiced the iconic cowboy Woody since the film’s debut in 1995, appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert to celebrate 30 years of Toy Story. During the chat, Hanks dropped a surprising bombshell — the original version of the first Toy Story film was completely scrapped after production had already begun.
“Actually, it was more than 30 years ago,” Hanks revealed. “Tim Allen and I — and everyone involved — recorded a Toy Story movie, about 80 minutes of it, that was completely thrown out.”
According to Hanks, the early version had a totally different storyline and tone. Pixar executives at the time wanted Woody and Buzz Lightyear to be more “wisecracking” and “insulting” toward each other — a creative decision that didn’t sit right.
“We tried it for a while,” Hanks said. “But frankly, it didn’t work. It wasn’t Toy Story. It wasn’t what Pixar was going for.”
Eventually, director John Lasseter made the bold decision to restart the entire project from scratch, a process that took nearly three years.
The rest, as they say, is history — Toy Story went on to become one of the most successful and beloved animated franchises in history, with Hanks and Allen continuing their iconic roles for three decades.
Fans can look forward to the next chapter — Toy Story 5, which is set to hit theatres on June 19, 2026.