Tom Hanks Says Taylor Swift's Song in “Toy Story 5” Was Kept 'Top Secret' Even from Him
Tom Hanks Says Taylor Swift's Song in “Toy Story 5” Was Kept 'Top Secret' Even from Him
Tommy McArdleWed, June 10, 2026 at 4:18 PM UTC
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Tom Hanks on June 9, 2026; Taylor Swift on June 9, 2026Credit: Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic; Kevin Mazur/Getty -
Tom Hanks said Taylor Swift's new song "I Knew It, I Knew You" was kept "top secret" from Toy Story 5's cast until the song released on June 5
Swift's song is inspired by the Toy Story character Jessie's journey in the new movie
Toy Story 5 is in theaters June 19
Even Tom Hanks was not kept in the loop on Taylor Swift's song "I Knew It, I Knew You" and its inclusion in Toy Story 5.
Hanks, 69, told Varietyon the red carpet at the movie's Los Angeles premiere on Tuesday, June 9 that he and other Toy Story cast members only learned about Swift's new song recently when the pop megastar released the single on Friday, June 5.
"It was top secret. We did not know until, literally, when the moment came. They ushered us into a soundproof room and said, 'Tonight at 9 p.m., the true end titles song is going to drop, and it's by Taylor Swift,' " Hanks said. "And I was like, 'You guys kept this from us all?' We saw the movie without [the song], we had some dummy thing in there. They surprised us as well, to a delight."
"That's like saying, 'By the way, Judy Garland is singing "Over the Rainbow" at the beginning of this,' " he added. "That kind of thing."
Taylor Swift poses with Jessie at Toy Story 5's premiere on June 9, 2026Credit: Kevin Mazur/Getty
Swift, 36, only announced that she wrote an original song for Toy Story 5 on June 1. The singer-songwriter wrote on Instagram at the time that she saw an early screening of the new movie and "wrote this song as soon as I got home from the screening."
"I Knew It, I Knew You" is inspired in part by the Toy Story character Jessie (voiced by Joan Cusack). The movie's screenwriter and codirector Andrew Stanton said in a statement on June 1 that Swift's "connection to Jessie and the immediate way she understood what the character was going through was undeniable."
"Writing this song felt like a musical departure and coming home at the same time," Swift wrote of the track — a country-inspired tune more akin to her earliest music — on Instagram on June 5. "Creating something for Jessie was a new challenge and also felt like second nature all at once. And being a @toystory kid from the age of 5 til now… is an adventure I plan to be on, to infinity and beyond."
Pixar and Disney have shown a version of Toy Story 5 that did not include Swift's song to journalists and other industry professionals in recent weeks.
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Thomas Jordan, a VFX supervisor who worked on the movie, recently said at a SXSW London event that Swift first wrote the tune in February and that even the movie's crew "did not know about this secret until last week," as Variety previously reported.
Bullseye, Jessie, Atlas, Smarty Pants and Snappy in Toy Story 5Credit: Pixar
Swift attended Toy Story 5's premiere in L.A. on June 9 and even surprised those in attendance with a performance of "I Knew It, I Knew You" after the movie's credits rolled.
She also performed "You've Got a Friend in Me" with composer Randy Newman, who wrote the iconic track for 1995's original Toy Story and has composed every movie in the franchise.
Toy Story 5 sees Hanks, Tim Allen and Cusack reprise their iconic voice roles from Pixar's flagship franchise. Tony Hale returns as Forky, who was introduced in 2019's Toy Story 4, and Conan O'Brien joins the cast as a toilet-training toy named Smarty Pants.
The new movie revolves around a conflict between the toys and a high-tech, frog-shaped smart tablet voiced by Greta Lee, who is introduced as child Bonnie's latest toy.
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Toy Story 5 is in theaters June 19.
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Source: “AOL Entertainment”
