Tom Hanks did not hesitate to point out that Disney may not need him to make Toy Story 6. The actor played a crucial role in taking the franchise to new heights when the first movie was released. Since then, he has been part of every installment and has regularly appeared in promotional events, much to the delight of fans.

But after decades of working with the franchise, he acknowledged that Disney's digital archives from previous movies could potentially help carry the series forward without him. Hanks recently shared his thoughts on the Toy Story movies and the possibility of getting replaced.

Tom Hanks, who voices Woody in all the Toy Story films, explained that Disney may not need him if a sixth installment is made. He said the studio already has a vast collection of his dialogue from the previous Toy Story films. And AI could be used to recreate Woody's voice without his involvement. 

“Time is undefeated,” Hanks told Entertainment Weekly. “The question would be whether or not we could cobble together some version of me. Every word we have ever recorded in time in ‘Toy Story’ is on digital media somewhere, so they could put together anything they would want.”

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, both Hanks and his Toy Story co-star, Tim Allen, admitted that the possibility is frightening. But the actor was farsighted and had predicted AI long before it entered the entertainment world. In an interview on The Adam Buxton Podcast, Hanks shared that he knew an ability like this would come up in the future when he was filming for The Polar Express.

“The first time we did a movie that had a huge amount of our own data locked in a computer — literally what we looked like — was a movie called ‘The Polar Express,’” Hanks said.

He further added, “We saw this coming, we saw that there was going to be this ability to take zeros and ones from inside a computer and turn it into a face and a character.”

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Not just AI, the actor also weighed in on his decision and one condition to return to the Toy Story franchise for the 6th movie

Toy Story 5 has arrived in theaters and is enjoying massive success, becoming the ninth-highest-grossing film of 2026. And unsurprisingly, the discussions have already begun about the possibility of a sixth installment. While Tom Hanks is open to returning, he has said he will only do so if the filmmakers come up with a genuinely compelling story. 

“It better be great. You better be examining some theme that is not just dragging it out because people like the title,” he told Entertainment Weekly.

Hanks explained that although the franchise is a commercial success, a sixth film should offer something exciting and refreshing. That remains his condition for reprising Woody. Pixar has also been careful about developing meaningful stories for the series. However, by the time another sequel is made, how much AI will have changed the industry remains a major question.

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What do you think about Tom Hanks' comment on AI? Let us know in the comments.