The long-delayed third film in Disney’s TRON franchise has finally begun production in Vancouver in January, 2024. The original 1982 TRON was a groundbreaking sci-fi film, using then state-of-the-art computer graphics to realize the world of “the Grid.” This was a digital world, living entirely inside a computer system. Video game developer Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges ) gets sucked into the Grid and has a grand adventure.
Although not a financial success upon release, TRON became a cult classic, and eventually spawned a follow-up film, TRON: Legacy, in 2010. Directed by Joseph Kosinski, That film saw Kevin Flynn’s son Sam enter the Grid looking for his missing father. A third TRON has been in some form of pre-production since then, although there briefly was the idea of it becoming a Disney+ series. Cameras finally started rolling for another film in January 2024 and we cannot wait to see it.
Here’s everything we know about TRON: Ares.
Title
The name of the third installment of the TRON franchise is given alternately as TRON 3 or TRON: Ares. Disney hasn’t confirmed the latter as official, and a behind-the-scenes image from the filming of the new movie shows a chair that reads “TR3N.” So maybe that’s now the official title. Looks like we have several options but we will go with TRON: Ares for now.
TRON: Ares’ Plot
We know next to nothing about the plot for the TRON: Ares. The second film, TRON: Legacy, ended with Sam Flynn (Garrett Hedlund) escaping the digital world of the Grid, with escaped Grid refugee Quorra (Olivia Wilde) in tow. The implications that they were going to change the “real” world were there. Will the third TRON film follow up on that plot point? Perhaps not. It seems neither the characters of Sam Flynn nor Quorra are in this film, at least that we know of at this point. Rumors are that this installment will be a reboot of sorts. Jared Leto’s character of Ares was not in previous films. The film’s director said the third TRON is “a movie subsequently about AI and what it means, and takes, to be human.”
Behind-the-Scenes
Sitting in the director’s chair for the third TRON film is Joachim Rønning. Rønning became known thanks to his 2012 film Kon-Tiki, after which Disney hired him to direct Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales and Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, and the upcoming Disney+ film Young Woman and the Sea. This script is from screenwriter Jesse Wigutow. We don’t know who is scoring the film, but we hope they use elements of Daft Punk’s iconic score from TRON: Legacy.
TRON: Ares’ Cast
Jared Leto is in the lead for TRON: Ares as the (possibly) titular character of Ares, who joined the cast back in 2020. Joining him are Evan Peters, Greta Lee, Jodie Turner-Smith, Cameron Monaghan, Sarah Desjardins, and the most recent addition to the cast, X-Files icon Gillian Anderson.
TRON: Ares Release Date
TRON: Ares only just started filming in early 2024. Wherever it ends up, we know we can’t wait to see those light cycles one more time.