Ernie Hudson is taking over the late Carl Weathers‘ voice role of action figure Combat Carl in Toy Story 5, Deadline has confirmed.
Prior to his passing due to atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, pro football player turned actor Weathers voiced Combat Carl in two projects: the 2013 TV special Toy Story of Terror! and 2019’s Toy Story 4, which grossed over $1 billion worldwide. He died in February 2024, aged 76.
While official plot details for Toy Story 5 remain under wraps, ahead of the film’s June 19, 2026 unveiling, star Tim Allen said in an interview with WIVB that the film is “a lot about Jessie,” the cowgirl doll voiced by Joan Cusack. “Tom [Hanks] and I do — Woody and I — do realign,” added the actor, who voices Buzz Lightyear. “And there’s an unbelievable opening scene with Buzz Lightyears. I can give you that, but I can’t give you much more.”
In a separate interview with Collider after completing his first voiceover session on the new film, Allen called the sequel “a very, very clever story” with “a brilliant script,” adding, “It’s a really good story, guys. It’s really good.”
The Disney/Pixar title hails from writer-director Andrew Stanton, the two-time Oscar winner behind WALL-E and Finding Nemo. Jessica Choi is producing, with Pete Docter exec producing. Also in the voice cast in an undisclosed role, as previously reported, is Anna Faris of Mom and Scary Movie fame.
TMZ was first to today’s Toy Story news.
Content shared from deadline.com.