Lightyear: 5 Reasons It's Not The Movie Andy Watched In Toy Story (And 3 Reasons It Is)
2. Why It Is Not: Zurg Is A Totally Different Character
When Evil Emperor Zurg was introduced in Toy Story 2, he was meant to be a parody of fantasy and space opera adventure villains, who were usually portrayed as dark evil wizards or dictatorial emperors. Specifically, he was a parody between Emperor Palpatine and Darth Vader.
The Zurg that appears in Lightyear is nothing close to that description, nor does he even have the title of Emperor. The fundamentals of anything the Toy Story franchise hinted about him have changed. The biggest of which is that he is not Buzz’s father. Why the Zurg toy in Toy Story 2 said he is Buzz’s father in that movie, we will never know.
Instead of being Buzz’s father, he is an elderly Buzz Lightyear in an alternate timeline where he never lets go of the guilt of stranding his people on a desert planet and never lets go of his obsession with having a purpose. So this Zurg is not exactly trying to rule the galaxy. So Buzz’s proclamation in the first Toy Story that he is the “sworn enemy of the Galactic Alliance!” is not actually true. Hey, there is even an argument to be had if he is actually evil.
So he is not evil. He is not an emperor. He is just Zurg.