The actor revealed on the red carpet at Toy Story 5’s Los Angeles world premiere Tuesday night that Taylor Swift’s contribution to the film — an original song called “I Knew It, I Knew You” — was withheld from the entire cast until hours before it went public. “It was top secret,” Hanks told Variety. “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.’ And I was like, ‘You guys kept this from us all?’ And we saw the movie without [the song], we had some dummy thing in there.”
Hanks compared the revelation to learning that Judy Garland was singing “Over the Rainbow” at the start of a film — a measure of just how significant he considered Swift’s involvement. He called it a “delight” to have a star of her magnitude attached to the project.
Disney had planted hints of Swift’s involvement well before the official announcement, but “I Knew It, I Knew You” wasn’t confirmed until June 1, when a Toy Story-themed countdown clock appeared on the singer’s website. Swift wrote and produced the track with longtime collaborator Jack Antonoff, describing the process as “a musical departure and coming home at the same time.” She performed the song live at the premiere — her piano in hand — before joining Randy Newman on stage for a duet of his franchise signature “You’ve Got a Friend in Me.”
The song made history at country radio this week, becoming the first track by a female artist to receive playlist pickups from every Mediabase-monitored country station in its debut week.
Hanks also opened up about a subtler detail tucked inside the film itself. Woody, he explained, now has a bald spot under his cowboy hat — the result of wear and tear from adventures saving discarded toys. Hanks described it as an organic part of the toy’s life cycle, joking that “a little of the right color Sharpie will make that bald spot go away.” Toy Story 5 opens June 19.
