Greetings programs! Fans of the Tron franchise have some celebrating to do because the original digitized “User” is going back on the grid. Disney has confirmed that Jeff Bridges is officially set to return as Kevin Flynn for the upcoming film Tron: Ares. Bridges was the star of the original Tron and played a mentor/antagonist in the 2010 Tron: Legacy, so it is exciting to see him attached to the Ares project.
In a prerecorded episode of The Film Comment Podcast, Bridges teased that he would be involved in Tron: Ares, Jared Leto’s passion project. Bridges said “I’m heading off this Saturday to play a part in the third installment of the ‘Tron’ story… Jared Leto is the star of this third one. I’m really anxious to work with him. I’ve admired his work.”
While this provided ample fodder for speculation, there is always the question of “is it real” until it is made official. Well, on April 30th Disney did just that. In a post on the official Walt Disney Studios social media accounts, Disney posted a photo of Jeff Bridges reading his personal copy of the Tron: Ares script with the caption “Jeff Bridges returns to the grid. #TronAres”
Tron: Ares will be the third film in the Tron franchise. The original movie Tron has become a popular cult classic over the years. The long-awaited sequel, Tron: Legacy, was a financial success for Disney but had a less-than-stellar critical reception. Disney scrapped the expected third film, and for a long time, it looked like we would never see another Tron movie on the big screen. Only through the insistence of actor Jared Leto are we even getting a chance to return to this fascinating sci-fi world.
Tron: Ares will see a worldwide release in October 2025. It will be directed by Joachim Rønning (Maleficent: Mistress of Evil) and stars Leto alongside Greta Lee, Evan Peters, Hasan Minhaj, Jodie Turner-Smith, Arturo Castro, Cameron Monaghan, Gillian Anderson and Sarah Desjardins.
ScreenHub Entertainment 