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Toy Story 4 cast: Keanu Reeves in a mystery role

News Toy Story 4

At this point, most everything about Toy Story 4 is a mystery. This latest reveal about the addition to the film’s cast comes not from Pixar or any of the filmmakers, but one of its stars. Watch the clip below of Tim Allen on The Tonight Show sharing some details with Jimmy Fallon.


Of course, Tim Allen can’t say much about the film, but what he did say leads to more questions than answers!

“They really will surprise you with the toys they come up with.”

Everybody was surprised by Forky (Tony Hale), in that first teaser, but could there be more? Not more sporks, but other wacky creations? And are they in denial about being toys as much as Forky is?

“Characters came back.”

So more than one returning character? It’s hard to believe, but the first mention of Bo Peep’s return was announced three years ago. She’s the only one we know about so far, and it’ll probably be some time before she is mentioned or seen in any teasers and other promo. And as far as other returning characters are concerned, we really will just have to wait and see!
But now to Allen’s comments regarding Keanu Reeves and his role:

“Keanu Reeves has got a great part. […] Even he said – gentle, wonderful guy that he is- ‘This sounds too much like Buzz Lightyear.’ And his character does have an edge to that. And the guy said, so we calmed him down a little bit, and they reminded me that his toy is only that big.”

Last week, we met Ducky (Keegan Michael Key) and Bunny (Jordan Peele). Now that we know about Reeves, could his be the next character we meet? AV Club also offered a bit of…speculation on Reeves’ tiny, mysterious newcomer.
Allen also repeated that the film’s ending caught him off guard:

“But the last scene of that movie was – I couldn’t even get through it. And I thought there was pages after it. And I read it, you know, I had to turn around from looking at it in the studio. […] It was so emotional. It’s a ‘Scarlett, I don’t give a damn’ moment.”

Allen’s description of his recording is similar to what Tom Hanks described a few weeks ago, when he called Toy Story 4 a moment in history. Please also note Allen’s reference to Gone With the Wind (1939), in which Clark Gable as Rhett Butler delivers one of the most famous lines in movie history: “Frankly my dear, I don’t give a damn.”
Both Allen and Hanks are setting Toy Story 4 up as a legendary finale. And maybe, just maybe, that’s exactly what it is.
Update as of 12/15: Keanu Reeves spoke about the role himself:

“I got a call, which was really cool, out the blue from the lovely people at Pixar and the creators of this number, this edition, or continuation of the story. They pitched the character to me, and then we spoke and they allowed me to kind of riff on it. I’ve done four recording sessions with them so far. It’s been a lot of fun.”

Cinema Blend also reports one fan theory about the still under wraps Reeves toy: he might be a G.I. Joe action figure. Hopefully Pixar doesn’t keep us waiting for too long and we can see if this bit of speculation is true.

Tags: Last modified: November 23, 2018

Simoa (Elliefredricksen) is Editor in Chief of Upcoming Pixar and an aspiring Pixar heroine. She joined Upcoming Pixar in 2014 and is always excited to see how her favorite animation studio changes and grows.