Toy Story 5 Has Found Its Carl Weathers Replacement For Combat Carl, And I'm Pumped It's Another Beloved Hollywood Icon (2025)

One of the most anticipated cinematic sequels, at least for fans of anthropomorphic playthings, is easily Pixar’s Toy Story 5, which will once again bring Woody, Buzz and the usual gang together for a heart-swelling adventure. Unfortunately, the franchise suffered another loss to its high-profile cast in the aftermath of Toy Story 4, as Carl Weathers passed away in February 2024. But does that mean we won’t be hearing from Combat Carl or his Jr. counterpart? Guess again, soldier.

It’s never known exactly how Toy Story’s creative team will handle character decisions in light of a cast member’s death — the franchise has already lost Don Rickles, Jim Varney, R. Lee Ermey, Estelle Harris, and Ned Beatty, to name a few. Rather than retire Combat Carl or have him serve solely as background visual fodder, filmmaker Pete Docter & Co. have chosen to go the recasting route, with another high-profile franchise actor landing the gig.

Ernie Hudson Is Joining Toy Story 5

Who you gonna call when you need a top-notch vocal substitution for an animated blockbuster? The Ghostbusters, obviously. Or at least one of them, as TMZ reports Ernie Hudson was cast behind the scenes to take over the roles of Combat Carl and his higher-pitched offshoot Combat Carl Jr.

It's unclear when exactly Hudson was brought into the project, nor how heavy a workload he will have when inside the recording booth. But we know that he'll be part of the plasticized good time when Toy Story 5 hits theaters in 2026, and one can only hope there's at least one Winston Zedemore joke. Or maybe something more respectful than a joke, even, since Hudson's return for Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire made Winston out to be arguably the most capable human in that universe.

I'm almost surprised that the powers that be didn't choose to just retire the G.I. Joe-spoofing character, given Carl Weathers' previous military characters in movies like Predator were a big reason why he was cast to voice the action figure. Not that Hudson has had a career free from soldier roles, as he's portrayed Arrow's General Stewart, Twin Peaks: The Return's Colonel Davis, Rizzoli & Isles' Admiral Frost and more.

Interestingly enough, Toy Story 5 won’t be the only upcoming Disney-related project that Ernie Hudson will be seen in. The actor was also reported to have joined the cast of Oswald: Down the Rabbit Hole, a low-budget horror focusing on Mickey Mouse predecessor Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, which joined “Steamboat Willie” and Winnie the Pooh in the realm of public domain characters being exploited for mash-up genre flicks like Poohniverse: Monsters Assemble.

No word on whether or not Combat Carl will show up to fight Bambi or whatever, but I think we can safely expect the military toy to stay away from that particular war.

Stay tuned for more Toy Story 5 details as they come crawling out of the toy chest, and be sure to relive Carl Weathers’ top-notch performances in Toy Story of TERROR! and everything else in this franchise with a Disney+ subscription.

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