‘Lightyear’ Has the Same Twist as ‘The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part’

(This post contains SPOILERS for both films)

It’s now been over a year since Lightyear was released, a movie that I personally did not care for many reasons. But the biggest point of contention this movie has received is its twist reveal that Zurg is actually a future version of Buzz. And while there has been plenty of discussion about how this doesn’t work with the already established cannon of the series, I haven’t seen anyone make comparisons to another film with a very similar twist - The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part. The antagonists of both films are future, jaded versions of the protagonists whose dastardly plans to change their past must be stopped, and these iterations also each have a cool dark spaceship as well as an army of non-humans (robots for Lightyear, dinosaurs for The Lego Movie 2). They also both feature action in space.

One major difference between them, however, is how their sinister intentions are revealed. Since Zurg has been an established villain, his designs are clear, but for The Lego Movie 2, not only is the surprise about Rex Dangervest withheld, but so are his aims. Part of what helps is the film’s red herring of making Queen Watevra Wa’Nabi and her subjects appear to be the villains, casting Rex in the role of a supporting hero for most of the film’s runtime before revealing his identity and goals all at once. Since Lucy is also under this mistaken impression about the Queen, it works effectively as a twist. Revealing Zurg’s identity and designs in the same sequence, but with a slight gap in an effort to make him appear less villanous, is a technique that’s easy to see through, especially for anyone familiar with the Toy Story films.

Despite their explanations, the timeline of both films can be somewhat confusing. Both movies include flashbacks to the antagonist’s past showing how their timelines diverged as they became who they are. Each movie treats time travel differently, as Lightyear has Buzz constantly traveling into the future while in Lego, Finn mentions that he’s doing a time travel story, foreshadowing this reveal. However, despite the plot holes, the latter leans into the absurdity of time travel and the fact that it’s a narrative created by a teenage boy makes it easier to forgive any inconsistencies. Even Rex’s method of time traveling is silly as he steals time machines from different franchises.

Another major difference between the two is the goal of the future version of the protagonist. Zurg’s motivation is to change the past and prevent his mistake from happening. However, Rex is driven to ensure the same result using a different method, essentially making Emmett tough like him while also extracting revenge on his friends that he felt abandoned him. In the process, they both protect their younger selves from difficult circumstances, with Buzz avoiding getting captured upon his return from space and Emmett prevented from crashing into an asteroid. Both these differences are consistent with each of the movie’s themes. While Lightyear is about accepting one’s mistakes and moving on, something that’s clearly seen through Zurg, The Lego Movie 2 is more about changing oneself, as seen in Lucy initially wanting Emmett to be tough like Rex before appreciating him how he already is. Despite these differences, it’s still essentially the same twist.