Lightyears director doesn't believe spinoffs are Pixar's future

This weekend, Pixar's latest film, and their first return to theaters since 2020, Lightyears, is a spinoff from the beloved Toy Story. And this is far from Pixar's first foray into indirect sequels and spinoffs. Films like Finding Nemo and Planes have evolved their respective narrative universes by showcasing new corners of the world or pivoting supporting characters to hero positions. It's tempting to see a pattern begin to emerge where Pixar's future ties into its past breakthroughs. But according to Lightyears director and screenwriter Angus MacLean, it might not be such a good idea.

Despite his experience working on Lightyear and Finding Nemo, McLean doesn't think spinoffs are the future of the studio, nor would he recommend them to up-and-coming directors. "I really don't recommend it," McLean told GameSpot. "It's just too hard."

Lightyears producer Garin Sussman chimed in to stress that this is only a good idea under the right conditions: "If you have a deep passion for that role, only in that case would I participate, because it is indeed very challenging."

McLean continued, "As a filmmaker, you have to think about what problem you want to solve. When we took on the project, we had this problem of having to change a supporting character to a lead character, which is a very difficult thing to do. Working on Finding Nemo was very difficult. But because Buzz's backstory was something I wanted to tell, and because I wanted to make a simple sci-fi action-adventure, you know, like a nerdy/geeky movie, that was the core driver of this film. So that's what kept it going, even though we hadn't figured it out yet. Because I knew what the movie was going to look like when it was finished."

Challenges aren't always narrative in nature, sometimes they come down to audience expectations. "I think it's interesting to hear people ask questions like 'How does this compare to Toy Story?'" explains McLean. "Because when you watch the movie you realise it's its own thing and you definitely don't compare it after you've seen the movie. But before then, there's so much room for comparison." According to McLean, that's what you have to expect when making a film like this: "I get it, I really do. I think it would be harder if Buzz from Toy Story came into this movie, you know? And then you're like 'Where's Woody?!' Because that's what made that character work. I can imagine a different version of the movie where it might be closer to the Buzz Lightyear animated series, which is a bit tongue-in-cheek, but I think that works better in a shorter format. For a feature, you live with the emotions of those characters."

Of course, it's impossible to say that a Pixar spinoff will never happen again - while there haven't been any announced upcoming movies, with 26 feature films under their belt, there are certainly some IPs that Pixar could be looking to tap into. In MacLean's opinion, it all has to come down to choosing the right project for the right reason.

"Lightyears" is currently showing in European and American theaters.