For Chris Evans, taking up the mantel of Buzz Lightyear meant honoring the character's original voice actor.
"It's a tough legacy to try and touch what Tim Allen did," Chris exclusively told E! News' Daily Pop, "so you have to honor that and use it as a blueprint, but still try and find a way to add your own interpretation."
The Marvel star was thrilled when he got the call from Disney and Pixar about bringing Buzz's origin story to life in the movie Lightyear, which premieres June 17. But Chris revealed he was a bit hesitant about it at first.
"My team called and they said, 'OK, we have everybody.' Usually, if everybody's on the call, it's either really good news or really bad news," he told Daily Pop. "They said, 'So, Pixar has a movie. They wanna pitch it. All they told us was Buzz Lightyear.' I said, 'Tim Allen's Buzz Lightyear, but OK.'"
Everything worked out for the best, as Chris wrote in an Instagram post after the film's announcement that he "didn't stop smiling through the ENTIRE pitch."
Buzz Lightyear is another iconic hero Chris has added to his long list of roles, including Captain America, who he played for almost 10 years in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But sometimes, the 41-year-old enjoys taking a walk on the dark side.
"Villain's a lot more fun," said Chris, who is set to be the antagonist in the upcoming Netflix movie The Gray Man.
Journeying to infinity and beyond with Chris in Lightyear is co-star Keke Palmer, who plays Izzy, the granddaughter of Uzo Aduba's Alisha Hawthorne. Recording her lines in a booth, Keke didn't meet much of the film's cast in person until its premiere.
When it comes to the voice of the villainous Zurg, Keke got James Brolin confused with someone else who's played a big, purple meanie. "Oh my gosh! I've been saying Josh," she realized on Daily Pop, mistaking James for his son Josh Brolin, who played Thanos in the MCU.
She called out her mistake, joking, "Somebody else said James, but I said, ‘It's Josh, miss girl.'"
Check out the full interview above.
Lightyear premieres in theaters June 17.