Who is going to replace the late Carl Weathers in Toy Story 5? Actor revealed

Carl Weathers' role in Toy Story has been a significant one as he portrayed Combat Carl, the G.I. Joe type action figure toy line in the Toy Story universe. As a new project lined up from the series, questions were raised on who would replace Weathers in Toy Story 5 and after much speculation, Sony has finally replaced the late actor for the franchise's upcoming film. Weathers portrayed Carl for two projects, the 2013 TV special Toy Story of Terror! and 2019’s Toy Story 4.

Ernie Hudson, the notable actor who is known for lending his voice to several franchises and their characters, will be joining the Toy Story universe as Combat Carl. Hudson is well-known for her roles in the Ghostbusters franchise, Grace and Frankie on Netflix, and other movies. His most famous works include Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, The Retirement Plan, and Champions. His voice acting credits include roles in Transformers Prime, Pound Puppies, Puppy Dog Pals, and Star Wars: The Bad Batch. Knowing his impressive resume, the actor would surely bring in his own charm to the Toy Story franchise, which is set to release in 2026.

More details about Toy Story 5

In August 2024, Pixar revealed the first news on the franchise's future at Disney's D23 Expo. It was also revealed that the fifth movie will be released in June 2026. A major contributor to the development of the Toy Story world, director Andrew Stanton will lead the upcoming film. He announced at D23 that the most recent release will address modern themes, including how technology affects children's play.

Stanton told the audience,

“In Toy Story 5 the toys’ jobs get exponentially harder when our toy crew goes head to head with what kids are obsessed with today: electronics."

Executive producer Pete Doctor told The Wrap in 2023 that the new film will have some really cool stuff that fans have not witnessed before. Tim Allen, who voices Buzz Lightyear in the franchise, talked about the upcoming film and told WIVB in April 2025,

“I can tell you that it’s a lot about Jessie. Tom [Hanks] and I do — Woody and I — do realign. And there’s an unbelievable opening scene with Buzz Lightyear. I can give you that, but I can’t give you much more.”

In another interview with Collider, Allen was all praise about the fifth film as he finished his work with the project and told the outlet,

"It’s a very, very clever story...It’s really clever. It was really a struggle to get, and then maybe two hours in, I was doing Buzz. I’m so blessed to be Buzz Lightyear to be honest. It’s gonna be fun. I think we’re a year out. I’ve gotten up to the third act. We’ll do the third act. And then, we’ll go back and clean it. And then, I’ll do it about five more times. It’s a really good story, guys. It’s really good."