How to watch Lightyear

Sox and Buzz Lightyear in Lightyear
(Image credit: Disney/Pixar)

Come in Star Command. The new Buzz Lightyear inspired movie, aptly titled Lightyear, has landed. The latest movie from Pixar and one of the biggest family summer blockbusters of the 2022 movie slate is now playing worldwide, so fans are probably wondering about their best viewing options for this new take on a beloved Toy Story character. Well, we’ve got you covered on that.

Here is everything that you need to know about how to watch Lightyear.

How to watch Lightyear in movie theaters

Lightyear is still playing exclusively in movie theaters around the world.

To find showtimes for Lightyear near you, check your local movie theater’s websites or Fandango.

If you’re excited about Lightyear but not the movie theater ticket price, a way to get a discount or save on trips to the movies is through a movie theater subscription or membership deals. These offerings from theater chains in the US and the UK allow for participants to get a certain number of movies a month for a flat fee and/or provide discounts for tickets and concessions, as well as additional movie experience perks.

Is Lightyear streaming?

Lightyear may not be available to stream right this minute, it's arrival to digital platform is quickly approaching, including a streaming debut this August.

Disney Plus has announced that Lightyear is going to debut on the streaming platform on August 3.

Lightyear is actually the first movie since lockdowns began in 2020 to get a movie theater run before being available to stream. Soul, Luca and Turning Red all premiered exclusively on Disney Plus, but they are soon going to be joined by the latest Pixar entry.

If you're interested in subscribing to Disney Plus to watch Lightyear or any of the other movies and TV shows the streaming service has, you can do so by signing up for the streaming service by itself, as part of the Disney Bundle with Hulu and ESPN Plus or with Hulu with Live TV, where Disney Plus is a standard feature.

It is not clear when Lightyear is going to be made available for digital on-demand purchases for non Disney Plus subscribers, but we’ll update this page when info is available.

What else you need to know about Lightyear

Though it’s based on Toy Story’s Buzz Lightyear, Lightyear isn’t a space adventure following the toy. Instead, director Angus MacLane has described Lightyear as the movie that would have inspired the toy Buzz Lightyear. Check out the trailer for Lightyear right here:

Chris Evans jumps into the Space Ranger suit in place of Toy Story’s Tim Allen, who has voiced Buzz Lightyear from the beginning. Evans is joined in the voice cast by Keke Palmer, Taika Waititi, Peter Sohn, Uzo Aduba, Bill Hader and James Brolin. 

Michael Balderston

Michael Balderston is a DC-based entertainment and assistant managing editor for What to Watch, who has previously written about the TV and movies with TV Technology, Awards Circuit and regional publications. Spending most of his time watching new movies at the theater or classics on TCM, some of Michael's favorite movies include Casablanca, Moulin Rouge!, Silence of the Lambs, Children of Men, One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest and Star Wars. On the TV side he enjoys Only Murders in the Building, Yellowstone, The Boys, Game of Thrones and is always up for a Seinfeld rerun. Follow on Letterboxd.