New Toy Story 5 Actor Responds to Recasting (& Didn’t Realize They Were Taking Over an Iconic Role)

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Speaking with Screen Rant, Hudson discussed his involvement with Toy Story 5. “It was great to enter the franchise because I’ve always been a fan of it and I’ve always been disappointed that they never asked me to,” he said. “And I had friends who was on it, Carl Weathers and Annie Potts and Tom Hanks and just a bunch of guys who I’ve worked with over the years, but they didn’t tell me that Combat Carl had been played by Carl Weathers. So when I went into the session, we did the first session and the fans heard about it and they told me. And I thought, ‘Well, why didn’t you…’ And I think they probably wanted me to sort of do my own thing without trying to emulate or repeat what he had done or something. I don’t know. So hopefully the fans will like it, but Carl, he had been a friend for 40, 50 years. I’ve known him for a long time, great guy, and I’m honored to play the role, but what I came out of it with was just how it’ll match up. You’ll have to let me know.”

What Will Combat Carl’s Role In Toy Story 5 Be?

Image Courtesy of Pixar

Combat Carl didn’t have the biggest role in Toy Story 4. A group of three Combat Carl figures appears in a short scene to inform Bo Peep about a nearby birthday party where there could be “20 to 30 kids” in attendance. The Carls appear to be part of Bo’s traveling group of lost toys who attempt to unite toys with new owners (one of the Carls expresses excitement about being played with at the birthday party, possibly hoping he will be taken home by a kid). Odds are, Combat Carl will have a similar role in Toy Story 5.

Carl hasn’t been prominently featured in Toy Story 5 marketing to this point, but we do know Bo’s gang of lost toys is coming back. The Toy Story 5 trailer establishes that Woody, Bo, and others are still out there, finding abandoned toys in the wilderness. In all likelihood, a Combat Carl action figure is among the group. It’s unknown if the Carl (or Carls) in Toy Story 5 is one of the same ones from the previous movie or a new one Woody and Bo come across in their travels.

Based on what we know about Toy Story 5, Carl will probably show up in a short sequence towards the beginning of the film to establish what Woody and Bo have been up to since the events of Toy Story 4. Whereas Bo and the lost toys had a larger role to play in the last film, they may not have as much to do this time around. The trailer hints that only Woody goes to Bonnie’s house to help Jessie, Buzz, and the rest of the toys deal with Lilypad. That would make sense for a couple of reasons. Whereas Bo was a focal point in Toy Story 4 (contributing to Woody’s arc in that film), Toy Story 5 is more about Jessie as she deals with new challenges as the leader of Bonnie’s room. Dedicating more screen time to her over Bo’s lost toys would be a smart move. Additionally, there’s no need for the entire troupe of lost toys to come to Jessie’s aid. Bo can continue to search for other lost toys while Woody returns to his friends temporarily.

Even if Combat Carl has minimal screen time in Toy Story 5, Ernie Hudson should do a great job with the voice. He has plenty of experience doing voice acting for animated projects, as some of his previous credits include Pound Puppies, Batman: The Animated Series, and Transformers: Prime. A Hollywood veteran for decades, Hudson should be a perfect fit for Combat Carl, putting his own spin on the role. Toy Story 5 could be his springboard to becoming a new fan-favorite, reprising the role in other media down the line.

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