Toy Story 5 Trailer Has Fans Asking: Did Disney Just Retcon Toy Story 4?
Toy Story 5 zeroes in on the question fans can’t shake: is Woody back with Buzz and the gang, or further from his old crew than ever? The answer could reshape the franchise’s heart.
Pixar just dropped the first teaser for Toy Story 5, and it’s short, vague, and already stirring up continuity headaches. The clip barely reveals anything plot-wise, but it does tee up a new tech villain and a very big question: how on earth is Woody back with the gang?
What the teaser actually shows
We open on a package delivered to Bonnie. Her toys — Rex, Slinky Dog, Forky, Mr and Mrs Potato Head, and Jessie — all stare it down like it’s a bomb. Bonnie cracks it open and pulls out a tablet called Lilypad. Cut to ominous on-screen text basically asking if the age of toys is over, and then the stinger: Buzz Lightyear and Woody pop up together.
That quick cameo is what sent fans spiraling. After the ending of Toy Story 4, Woody being back in Bonnie’s orbit isn’t just surprising — it’s confusing.
About that Toy Story 4 ending
Quick refresher: Toy Story 4 reunited Woody with Bo Peep, who had been passed on to a new owner way back after Toy Story 2. Woody found her during Bonnie’s family road trip. By the finale, he made the choice to stay with Bo at a carnival, joining her crew as a so-called lost toy. Everyone cried, Buzz led the gang back to Bonnie, and Woody stayed behind to live his new life.
Now Toy Story 5’s teaser shows Woody standing next to Buzz and the rest like that never happened. There’s no Bo Peep anywhere in sight. Considering Bonnie’s family had to rent an RV to get to that carnival, a tiny cowboy making the trek back solo — intact and unnoticed — is a stretch. Fans noticed, too, with a lot of posts basically asking: when did he return, and why?
Meet the new 'toy' problem
Based on the teaser and the official setup, Lilypad isn’t just a tablet — it’s the kind of modern gadget that makes classic toy life miserable. It’s also frog-shaped, because why not add a little unsettling whimsy to the disruption of childhood playtime.
'Lilypad, a high-tech frog-shaped smart tablet that makes Buzz, Woody, Jessie, and the rest of the gang's jobs exponentially harder when they have to go head to head with the all-new threat to playtime.'
That doesn’t clear up the Woody timeline at all, but it does signal that Lilypad is the antagonist. The odd part is the teaser also includes Forky (and the little buddy he picked up in the last movie), which suggests Toy Story 5 is acknowledging Toy Story 4 while maybe… skimming past its ending. We’ll need a proper trailer to see how they square that circle.
Key details at a glance
- Teaser snapshot: Package arrives for Bonnie; the gang watches nervously; inside is a tablet named Lilypad; on-screen text hints the age of toys might be over; stinger reveals Buzz and Woody together.
- Continuity wrinkle: Woody chose carnival life with Bo Peep at the end of Toy Story 4; there’s no Bo in the teaser, and no explanation for Woody’s return.
- Returning voices: Tom Hanks (Woody), Tim Allen (Buzz), Joan Cusack (Jessie).
- New voices: Greta Lee as Lilypad, Conan O'Brien as Smarty Pants.
- Release date: June 19, 2026.
Bottom line
The teaser is all mood and mystery. Lilypad looks like the new threat, the gang is intact, and Woody’s back without an obvious reason. If Pixar plans to hand-wave the end of Toy Story 4, that’s a bold move. If they have a clever way to bridge it, show us soon — because right now the biggest cliffhanger isn’t the villain, it’s the timeline.