Tom Hanks: Disney Could Recreate Woody’s Voice with AI if I Don’t Return; It’s a Scary Idea!
According to the CinemaDrame News Agency, Toy Story 5 has once again demonstrated the enduring power of Pixar’s 31-year-old franchise by shattering box office records with a staggering $312 million global opening weekend. Following this massive theatrical success, speculation surrounding a potential Toy Story 6 has already ignited. However, the overarching question remains: is two-time Academy Award winner Tom Hanks willing to return to voice the beloved character of Sheriff Woody?
Speaking with Entertainment Weekly, Hanks shared his thoughts on a potential return:
“If there is going to be another Toy Story, it has to be worth it. The film needs to be spectacular and tackle a theme or concept that goes beyond simply stretching a story just because the title carries brand value. This is a massive corporate business, there is no doubt about that; but unless there is a genuinely great, new, and fresh idea, there’s no reason to do it all over again.”
Nevertheless, Hanks is well aware that Disney would not necessarily require his physical presence in a recording booth to move forward with a sixth installment. Given the vast archive of his recorded dialogue accumulated over the past three decades, advanced artificial intelligence technology could seamlessly generate entirely new lines in his distinct tone. Describing the prospect as “scary” alongside his co-star Tim Allen (the voice of Buzz Lightyear), Hanks noted that through the combination of zeros and ones in a computer system, anyone can now be recreated at any age. Recalling his work on The Polar Express (2004) as his earliest experience with performance data storage, he warned that even if he were to be hit by a bus tomorrow, his performances could theoretically continue forever via AI and deepfakes—an evolutionary leap that he views as both a major artistic challenge and a deeply complex legal issue. Toy Story 5 is currently playing in theaters worldwide.
