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Taylor Swift feared she'd lost Toy Story 5 song after months-long delay
Taylor Swift has revealed she worried Pixar had replaced her on Toy Story 5 after taking months to respond to the offer to write the film's end credits song.
Taylor Swift feared she'd missed her chance to be part of Toy Story 5 after taking months to commit to writing the movie's end credits song.
The 36-year-old pop superstar opened up about joining the latest Pixar blockbuster during a question-and-answer session with director Andrew Stanton following a special screening on Sunday (01.11.26).
As reported by Billboard, Stanton had his heart set on Swift from the very beginning and never considered anyone else for the job.
The filmmaker explained he wanted to take the franchise's music into new territory. While Randy Newman has been synonymous with the Toy Story films since the original movie debuted in 1995, Stanton believed Swift was the perfect choice to create something fresh for the latest instalment.
He said: "Nothing else made sense."
However, Swift couldn't commit to the project right away, leading the Fate of Ophelia singer to fear she had been replaced.
Recalling her conversations with Stanton, she said: "I was repeatedly asking, 'I know that it took me a couple months to come back to this project. Be honest: Did you guys replace me?'"
The chart-topper insisted she would have understood if Pixar had approached someone else in her absence.
She continued: "I don't want to kick somebody off of this project that you reached out to after [me].
"I understand, but I'm not in the business of doing that.'"
Despite the lengthy delay, once Swift finally signed on, the song came together at lightning speed.
After watching an early cut of the movie, she headed straight to the studio with longtime collaborator Jack Antonoff and completed what would become I Knew It, I Knew You within hours.
The track later earned a huge debut when Swift performed it alongside Newman at the film's Hollywood premiere.
For Stanton, hearing the finished song for the first time was an emotional experience.
The director admitted he was deeply moved by the track and compared the moment to the first time he heard one of the most famous songs in Pixar history.
He said: "I got choked up when I heard it.
"The only other time I've heard a song that just dropped from thin air and was perfect was when Randy Newman came in and played 'You've Got a Friend in Me' on piano."
