Toy Story 5 Star Reveals the Main Character (And It’s Not Buzz or Woody)

Yeehaw! Jessie the yodeling cowgirl (voiced by Joan Cusack) has been a core part of the Toy Story gang since 1999’s Toy Story 2, where the vintage pull-string cowgirl rag-doll and former star of the 1950s “Woody’s Roundup” TV show lassoed hearts everywhere with her yarn about ex-owner Emily (as told in a moving sequence set to Sarah McLachlan’s tear-inducing song “When She Loved Me”). After sheriff Woody (Tom Hanks) helped her realize the true meaning of being a toy — to be played with by a child — and becoming sweet on Space Ranger action figure Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen), Jessie joined Andy’s room before being handed down to new owner Bonnie (in 2010’s Toy Story 3).

“I can tell you that it’s a lot about Jessie,” Allen told Buffalo, New York outlet WIVB about the upcoming Toy Story 5. “Woody and I do realign. And there’s an unbelievable opening scene with Buzz Lightyear.”

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“I can give you that, but I can’t give you much more,” Allen added. 2019’s Toy Story 4 reunited Woody with his long-lost love, Bo Peep (Annie Potts), and ended with them parting ways with the rest of Bonnie’s toys.

Finding Nemo and Wall-E director Andrew Stanton — a co-writer on Toy Story 2 and a founding member of the original Pixar brain trust alongside Toy Story and Toy Story 2 director John Lasseter, story co-writer Pete Docter, and story supervisor Joe Ranft — is directing Toy Story 5 from a screenplay he wrote.

“As you can imagine, Toy Story holds a special place in my heart,” Stanton said at the D23 convention in Anaheim last year. “Through the experiences of these toys, we’ve all learned about loyalty, belonging, and friendship.”

“These characters have given us a unique perspective about growing up, navigating life. And in all the Toy Story films, above anything else, the job of the toys has been to be there for their kids,” he continued. “In Toy Story 5, the toys’ jobs get exponentially harder when our toy crew goes head-to-head with what kids are obsessed with today: electronics.”

A first look showed the reunited gang — Woody, Buzz, Jessie, Bullseye, Rex, Slinky Dog, Hamm, and Forky — peering over Bonnie’s bed as she plays with a tablet.

“Toys have some serious competition these days with phones, tablets, and technology everywhere, and so this time around, it’s toy meets tech,” Stanton said.

Further plot details remain in the toy chest, but Stanton teased that the film also features “50 rogue commemorative Buzz Lightyear action figures stuck in toy mode that will make considerable problems for everyone.” (We last saw a legion of boxed Buzzes lining the aisles of Al’s Toy Barn back in Toy Story 2.)

Docter, who has served as Pixar’s chief creative officer since 2018, is executive producing the fifth Toy Story movie alongside producer Jessica Choi (Inside Out 2). Disney and Pixar have dated Toy Story 5 to open in theaters June 19, 2026.