Keanu Reevesis getting in the animation game. The actor has built a long and storied over the decades, but he’s never lent his voice to a studio animation project – until now. We caught up with Reeves at the junket for his upcoming sci-fi filmReplicasand the actor confirmed he’s voicing a character in Pixar’s upcomingToy Story 4.
In November,Toy StoryheadlinerTim Allenstopped byThe Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon and revealed that theJohn Wickactor had joined the cast. “They really will surprise you with the toys they came up with,” Allen said. “Characters came back, new guys in it that are great. Keanu Reeves has got a great part.”
When we spoke with Reeves, the actor talked about how he landed the role and working with the creators, “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.” Reeves says he’s done four recording sessions for the film so far.
Naturally, Reeves is keeping mum about what part he plays in the film – after all, the film’s story in general is a bit of a mystery still and seems to evolved pretty significantly from when the project was first announced. At that time,John Lasseterwas poised to direct and was teasing a “romantic comedy” storyline that involved Woody (Tom Hanks) and Bo Peep (Annie Potts). However, in the years since the film was announced,Toy Story 4’s original screenwriters (Rashida JonesandWill McCormack) departed the projected, Lasseter stepped down as director andJosh Cooleytook over, and Lasseter left Pixar altogether this year.
We do know that the film will introduce a character called"Forky", voiced byTony Hale, who is a spork made to look like a toy, but who goes through an existential crisis as a result—is he a toy, or is he a utensil? While we don’t know much about the character Reeves is playing, Allen revealed that his character will be a bit intense, and a bit like Buzz Lightyear. Allen said, “Actually, a little inside story: Even [Reeves] 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 his toy is only that big.”
The film also starsTom Hanks,Joan Cusack,Don Rickles,Estelle Harris,Wallace Shawn,John Ratzenberger,Jeff Pidgeon,Jordan Peele,Keegan-Michael KeyandBlake Clark.Toy Story 4hits theaters on July 16, 2025.
