Tim Allen has addressed the controversy regarding Chris Evan voicing his Toy Story character Buzz Lightyear in new prequel Lightyear.

The actor, who voiced the fictional space adventurer in the flagship Pixar films, broke his silence on the new project in an interview with Extra.

“The short answer is I’ve stayed out of this ’cause it has nothing to do [with my Buzz Lightyear],” Allen explained.

Watch the full interview here:

“It’s a wonderful story,” the actor said of Lightyear. “It just doesn’t seem to have any connection to the toy, and it’s a little…I don’t know. It just has no relationship to Buzz. It’s just no connection. I wish there was a better connection.”

Tim Allen also revealed he was approached for the film years ago, saying: “We talked about this many years ago. It came up in one of the sessions. I said, ‘What a fun movie that would be’.”

He went on to say that “this is a whole new team that really had nothing to do with the first movies”.

“It’s [Tom] Hanks and I. There’s really no Toy Story’s Buzz without Woody.”

Lightyear was reportedly banned in 14 countries over a scene in the film which features a same-sex kiss. 

The scene depicting a lesbian space ranger named Alisha and her partner sharing a brief kiss had originally been cut by Disney, but was reinstated after Pixar animators penned an open letter criticising the company for censoring “overtly gay affection” in its films.

As a result, the film will not be screened in cinemas across Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Lebanon, Egypt, Malaysia, Indonesia and more, Reuters has reported. Disney has yet to comment.