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By India McCarty
GHOSTBUSTERS star Ernie Hudson recently shared what it was like taking on the role of Combat Carl in the upcoming TOY STORY 5.
“When I got the job, I didn’t realize that I was stepping in for Carl Weathers, who was a good friend. He’s just a wonderful man,” he said during an appearance on the TODAY show.
He added, “They didn’t tell me that at first because I think they wanted me to do my own thing with it. But, you know, it’s just — I’m so happy to be a part of it.”
“The great-grandkids will love it,” Hudson joked.
Related: New TOY STORY 5 Trailer Introduces ‘High-Tech Threat to Playtime’
Hudson spoke further on his role in TOY STORY 5 in an interview with Polygon.
“I knew Carl. Sweet guy. I’ve known him for a long time. I don’t remember when we first met, but out here probably going up for a lot of the same roles,” he said. “As for Combat Carl, I was excited about it and when word got out that I was doing it, it was the fans who told me that Carl Weathers had originated this character, I didn’t even know what the character looked like!”
TOY STORY 5 sees the classic characters facing a new problem — a child’s tablet, called Lilypad.
“[It’s] not even really about a battle so much as the realization of an existential problem: that nobody’s really playing with toys anymore,” director Andrew Stanton told Empire. “Technology has changed everybody’s lives, but we’re asking what that means for us — and to our kids. We can’t just get away with making tech the villain.”
This isn’t the only exciting project the GHOSTBUSTERS star recently appeared in. Hudson took on the role of family patriarch Reverend Peters in BOSTON BLUE.
“[BOSTON BLUE is] really about family, and that’s what fascinates me,” he told TV Fanatic. “I play a minister who is a community organizer and brings a different perspective into that.”
Hudson continued, “I think being able to come in and bring in that community element that we don’t always hear. There are laws we have to enforce, but I think the community isn’t always taken into account. And so it allows my character a chance to bring a different perspective to things. We all like things to be clear, cut-and-dry. However, my experience is that life never is.”
TOY STORY 5 premieres June 19, 2026. Fans can’t wait to see what Hudson brings to the role!
Read Next: Here’s What Tim Allen Has to Say About TOY STORY 5
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