Toy Story 5 is scheduled to hit theaters on June 19, and Alan Cumming says he will voice Bullseye in the film for the first time in the franchise. Cumming called the casting an “incredible honor” and said he was “so happy and proud and in disbelief.”
The role is a cameo, but it marks a first for Bullseye, who had previously been portrayed through physicality rather than speech. In Toy Story 5, Bullseye returns as Sheriff Jessie’s loyal horse after the events of Toy Story 4, with Jessie and Bullseye eventually separated from the others and Bullseye at the side of eight-year-old Bonnie.
Cumming said the filmmakers “went around the houses a bit” before settling on the version of Bullseye’s voice used in the film. He added that “once you see the film” the choice would make sense, and that audiences should “not expect too much” because “it is a cameo,” even if “it is quite exciting as this character has never had a voice before.”
The casting news arrives with a franchise that has already proved its pull at the box office. Toy Story 3 and Toy Story 4 each earned more than $1 billion worldwide, and Toy Story 5 brings back Tom Hanks and Tim Allen as Woody and Buzz while also adding Bonnie Hunt, Conan O’Brien, Keanu Reeves, Greta Lee and Joan Cusack. It also introduces a new villain named LilyPad, and it brings Woody back after he went his own way at the end of Toy Story 4.
That setup points to a film built on old loyalties and new breaks. Cumming said the story would “find out what it means to really be there for your kid,” and he added that the role will give him “great kudos” with his friends’ children. For a character who has never spoken before, Bullseye’s first voice is less a gimmick than another sign that Toy Story 5 is reaching back into the franchise’s history while pushing the story forward.
