Let's go waaay back to the OG Toy Story when Buzz had a toy-life crisis after watching that Buzz Lightyear commercial.
"The world's greatest superhero, now the world's greatest toy!"
Lightyear is the story about the real person Buzz Lightyear in the Pixarverse.
This crystal looks like a MacGuffin. Also a reference to the OG Toy Story when Buzz meets Woody, "Do you people still use fossil fuels or have you discovered crystallic fusion?"
Time period is before/ pretty close to the beginning events of Wall-E. Humans are starting to master space exploration. But the Earth isn't ruined yet.
The droids already have a similar color, shape and texture to the ones that existed around Wall-E. Even the same little names!
Look at my boy Eric. I will kill ANYONE who hurts my boy Eric...
But this scene right here! Just look at that color palette and overall tone. Dreary, lonely, sad, smog-filled but also a sort of last ditch hope for humanity.
Speaking of last hope *wink* the Star Wars fan in me died and came back when I saw how they took the setting of Luke's ship on Dagobah. There will be tons of Star Wars easter eggs in this movie.
And if you spot it real close, you can tell Buzz and that droid are hiding from something with a bright red light coming out of the shadows.
A bright red light that looks super similar to these bulky yellow drones (This whole scene is a huge callback to Darth Vader's big entrance)
With a few hundred or thousands of these droids, I'd buy that someone wants to take over the galaxy.
The purple color palette tells us that this guy is one of Zurg's henchmen.
The V wings just scream "I'm a baddie Eeeeooowww!!" The ship is similar but definitely different from Lightyear's.
BUT it is whoever is in THIS container, that is the one and only true hot girl baddie of the summer, Evil Emperor Zurg! Ok I'll stop...
Whoever Zurg is, definitely ain't human. Just look at that Alien language! Mysterioussss....
There's still a lot that isn't clear. Like who is this Hawthorne? A beautiful black love interest that sounds alot like Uzo Aduba?
Is she related to that handsome admiral guy?
Who did those green tentacles belong to?
What kinds of intelligent alien life, will we see? Because there will definitely be aliens! It's like a rule.
Why is that cat giving off nightmare fuel vibes?
And more importanly! Will my space boi get to spread his wings and fly?
Or will he lose an arm...again?
We know Buzz Lightyear is a test pilot for Star Command. My theory is that his spaceship might be the first to travel in lightyears, unlocking the gates for real exploration throughout the entire galaxy if not the universe. But history shows that whenever you have explorers, you also have conquerors. Is Star command's true purpose to create a galactic empire? Anyway during one of the tests, Buzz crash lands and sees something he isn't supposed to see. Then he something-something plot and has to go on the run and steal his ship, only to be pursued by security. Then something something climax and bam! He stops Zurg, possibly at the cost of his own life.
Overall, I get the feeling Buzz is a tragic hero. Either he doesn't come home, can't come home or straight up sacrifices himself. Maybe all of the above!
The fact that they got Chris Evans sells it to me.
One thing is for sure! Disney and Pixar are going to have a chokehold on everybody's wallet to infinity AND BEYOND!
https://youtu.be/BwPL0Md_QFQ
