Inexplicably the planned sequel to director Joseph Kosinski's 2010 hit sequel Tron Legacy was canceled before production could begin in 2015. It was believed the sequel would continue immediately on from the closing moments of Tron Legacy in which Sam Flynn (Garrett Hedlund) brought ISO Quorra (Olivia Wilde) into the real world, possibly showing elements of the Grid within our world. It was reported in 2015 that for reasons unknown that Disney had decided to cancel production on a third Tron movie in favor of developing other properties, but in 2016 former Disney development executive Brigham Taylor hinted that plans for a third movie were not dead, which was later confirmed by actor Hedlund and director Kosinski. More recently THR reported that Disney is reportedly still considering a new Tron movie, which is rumored to be a reboot of the franchise with Jared Leto attached to star as a new character named Ares. Speaking recently in an interview with Collider about his latest movie Blade Runner 2049 American actor Leto spoke briefly about the untitled Tron movie...
"It was a huge movie for me as well and I do think there’s so much potential in that world, there so much left to be said. I’m absolutely game to try to help in any way that I can bring that to life... It’s something that we’re in discussions about and very much looking forward to bringing to reality. It’s very early days though."
While it seems Leto is still attached to and seemingly dedicated to the project, sadly it also appears that the project has yet to be even seriously considered by Disney and greenlit for production, taking into account that there has still been no true explanation as to why the aforementioned planned sequel was dropped by Disney just before it was to begin production. Considering the franchises popularity and its prolific stature in geek culture it seems perplexing that Disney is not more invested in expanding the universe. As for Kosinski, following the critical success of Only the Brave, and his forthcoming Top Gun: Maverick in 2019, should he direct the next Tron movie, it wouldn't be until 2020 at the earliest.
Conceptually the planned premise for the third Tron movie would have been something fresh and original with virtually generated entities able to become flesh and bone, nevermind the dynamics this would have created both on a personal level for Quorra, but also on a philosophical level for characters such as Clu and Tron. Then of course if such a movie was to be made the visuals alone could have been award-worthy. It's a shame then that the only Light Cycles we will probably get to see ripping up the tarmac of a 'real' street will be in Steven Spielberg's forthcoming Ready Payer One (pictured above), which you'll be able to get 50% off on Movie tickets from CouponsMonk for.
Tron: Ares is the third film in the iconic sci-fi movie franchise. Directed by Joachim Rønning and starring Jared Leto, the latest Tron movie has an official theatrical release date of October 10th, 2025!
