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Ernie Hudson, known for portraying Winston Zeddemore in the Ghostbusters film franchise, has been announced as the successor to the late Carl Weathers in the role of Combat Carl for Pixar Animation Studios’ upcoming sequel, Toy Story 5. The next entry in the blockbuster film series, which pioneered CG animated moviemaking, will be released on June 19, 2026 by Disney.
Hudson is a Michigan-born actor, playwright and producer who got his start on the stage in the early 1970s, making his feature film debut in Leadbelly. He has enjoyed a prolific film and television career, with notable roles in Leviathan, Airheads, The Hand That Rocks the Cradle, The Crow, The Basketball Diaries, Congo and Miss Congeniality, as well as HBO’s Oz, Desperate Housewives, Law & Order, Grace and Frankie and Quantum Leap. His recent animation voice-over credits include Angry Bird Mystery Island, Infinity Train and Puppy Dog Pals. Hudson will celebrate his 80th birthday in December.
Weathers was an NFL and CFL player in the early 1970s before transitioning to an acting career, gaining wide recognition as Apollo Creed in the first four Rocky movies, and later as Col. Dillon in Predator and Chubbs in Happy Gilmore. More recently, he had a recurring role as Greef Karga in The Mandalorian on Disney+, for which he was nominated for a Primetime Emmy. He also had a recurring voice role as Omnitraxus Prime in the Disney Channel animated series Star vs. the Forces of Evil, and was a repeat guest star on Cartoon Network’s Regular Show as the God of Basketball. Toy Story 4 (2019) was his last feature film project before his death in February 2024 at age 76.
Combat Carl is a G.I. Joe-inspired action figure character who first appeared in the Halloween TV special Toy Story of Terror! (2013) voiced by Weathers, and returned with three variants in Toy Story 4. A Caucasian toy of the same name is seen in the first Toy Story movie as one of Sid’s plastic victims.
From Pixar:
The toys are back in Disney and Pixar’s Toy Story 5 and this time around it’s Toy meets Tech. Buzz, Woody, Jessie, and the rest of the gang’s jobs get exponentially harder when they go head to head with this all new threat to playtime.
Hudson joins returning voice stars Tom Hanks (Woody) and Tim Allen (Buzz Lightyear). SAG Award nominee Anna Faris, who has provided voices for Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, Alvin and the Chipmunks and The Emoji Movie, has been cast in an undisclosed role.
[Source: TMZ]
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