Tron 3 is finally, officially happening.
Today, Disney confirmed that the third film in the long-running franchise is coming to theaters next year. It is officially titled Tron: Ares and stars Jared Leto in the lead role. They also unveiled the first official image of the film, which you can see below.
Here is the film’s first official plot synopsis:
“TRON: Ares” follows a highly sophisticated Program, Ares, who is sent from the digital world into the real world on a dangerous mission, marking humankind’s first encounter with A.I. beings. The feature film stars Jared Leto, Greta Lee, Evan Peters, Hasan Minhaj, Jodie Turner-Smith, Arturo Castro, Cameron Monaghan, with Gillian Anderson.
You will note that none of the stars of the previous Tron — Jeff Bridges, Garrett Hedlund, and Olivia Wilde — are amongst the cast of the new film.
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Although the Tron franchise is now 40 years old, this is just the third film in the franchise in that time. The first movie opened in 1982 and featured some of the earliest computer animation in motion picture history. It starred Bridges as a game programmer who gets sucked into the computer world.
Although a sequel was long discussed, it never happened until 2010, when Tron: Legacy opened in theaters. Directed by Joseph Kosinski (who later went on to helm Top Gun: Maverick), the sequel followed Bridges’ character’s son, as he investigates his father’s disappearance many years earlier. He goes into the computer world himself, and then not only finds his aging dad, but a computer program modeled after his father (also played by a de-aged Bridges).
The new film is directed by Joachim Rønning (Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales). He had this to say about production getting underway on Ares:
I’m excited to be part of the TRON franchise and bring this new film to fans around the world. ‘TRON: Ares’ builds upon the legacy of cutting-edge design, technology and storytelling. Now more than ever, it feels like the right time to return to the Grid.
Tron: Ares is expected in theaters in 2025.
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Gallery Credit: Emma Stefansky