The Fate of Mr. Potato Head

Following the passing of the legendary actor and comedian Don Rickles, Hollywood is still fighting back tears as many of its elite spent the weekend reflecting on Rickles’ greatest roles — and punchlines. But in the midst of mourning, it was brought to everyone’s attention that the comedian’s role as the well-loved Mr. Potato Head in the Toy Story franchise had not been planned out in advance. 

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Because the upcoming film is still in its infancy stages and not expected to debut until 2019, Rickles’ voiceover work had not been pre-recorded. One solution would be to re-create his voice digitally, using his work from the previous movies like they did with Paul Walker for Furious 7. However, because the movie’s plot is unknown, nothing is certain about the direction his character will take and will likely have to be adjusted to account for the actor’s passing. Regardless of how they go about it, there’s no doubt that Disney and Pixar won’t give Mr. Potato Head a beautiful and comedically appropriate sendoff in honor of the late Rickles.