- Jared Leto will be taking center stage in new film
- Jeff Bridges reprises his role as Kevin Flynn
- Nine Inch Nails to provide soundtrack
TRON: Ares is the long-awaited and highly-anticipated third film in the TRON franchise, directed by Joachim Rønning. It is scheduled for release in 2025, but at one point it looked like it would never see the light of day.
The last 15 years has been nothing but turbulence for this film. In March 2015 it was announced that 2010’s TRON: Legacy would be getting a sequel, with TRON: Ascension in the works, but two months later those plans were scrapped.
It was speculated that the u-turn was a result of Disney’s purchase of Marvel and Lucasfilm, and Disney putting their attention to other, potentially more profitable franchises.
By 2023, the original director Garth Davis was replaced by Joachim Rønning and a third film is back on. Filming was scheduled to begin in the Summer, only it was delayed once again by the writer and actor strikes, which lasted for more than 4 months.
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Eventually, after all the setbacks and horrible luck, the third TRON film found its stride. Production began at the start of January 2024 and wrapped on 1 May, 2024.
Since then there has been very little promotion for the film and strictly speaking it is not known if it is a sequel or a reboot – or even a soft reboot. As always though, there are some nuggets of information and teasers circulating.
Who’s starring in TRON: Ares?
Taking center stage in this film is Jared Leto who plays the main character of the film, Ares, an A.I being who is sent from the digital world to the real world on a dangerous mission.
Jeff Bridges reprises his role as Kevin Flynn and will be going back to the virtual world, much to the delight of fans. Bridges has featured in both of the past chapters of TRON, which began with the 1982 film, and was followed by 2010’s TRON: Legacy.
He revealed the news before filming in 2024 on the Film Comment podcast, saying “I’m heading off this Saturday to play a part in the third installment of the Tron story; I’m excited about that. It’s wild. Jared Leto is the star of this third one, and I’m really anxious to work with him, and I’ve admired his work”.
It’s confirmed that Leto and Bridges are also joined by double Emmy and Golden Globe-winning actress Gillian Anderson – who’s no stranger to sci-fi. Though there are no clues as to what character she plays yet.
Greta Lee as Eve Kim and Evan Peters as Julian Dillinger are also confirmed, and rounding out the cast are Hasan Minhaj, Jodie Turner-Smith, Arturo Castro, Cameron Monaghan and Sarah Desjardins.
Finally, as confirmed at Disney’s D23 Expo in 2024, rock band Nine Inch Nails (NIN) will be following in Daft Punk’s footsteps and providing the score for TRON: Ares.
Director Rønning told Empire,”With Nine Inch Nails making the music, this instalment will be a little grittier, a little bit more industrial. It’s been important for me to contrast The Grid and the real world. In that sense, Nine Inch Nails lends itself perfectly into this new Tron world that we are creating.”
What’s TRON: Ares about?
As far as we know, it’s about a highly sophisticated Program, Ares, making their way into the real world. It’s the reverse of what we’ve usually come to expect from a TRON film, but with A.I so prominent in our daily lives now, this doesn’t really come as a surprise.
The storyline is expected to take a darker turn, as Ares – a reference to the Greek God of War – is on a mission to mark the first interactions between artificial intelligence and humans.
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However, director Rønning has also promised that the film will still maintain humanity, he told Empire “What I always look for in any story is a strong emotional core. This film will probably be more emotional than people are expecting. It’s about the cost of being human.”
When can I watch it?
Tron: Ares is scheduled to be released in theaters on 10 October, 2025, including IMAX 3D, so prepare to re-enter the grid.
