After nearly fifteen years in development, including multiple reshuffles of writers, actors, directors and producers, Tron: Ares is finally in production. While discussing the series on the Film Comment Podcast, Jeff Bridges, 74, announced that he would be “returning to the grid” to star in the latest Tron iteration, alongside Jared Leto. Bridges expressed his excitement to work with Leto on the upcoming project:
““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.”
15 Years of False Starts
Originally announced in October of 2010, the screenplay for the third installment of the series was initially written by Adam Horowitz and Edward Kitsis, who had both written the screenplay for Tron: Legacy. Joseph Kosinski was also slated to return as director.
Over the next few years, multiple writers were hired to rewrite the script, adding and removing characters as they went. Olivia Wilde was originally set to return as Quorra for Tron: Ares, along with Garrett Hedlund and Bruce Boxleitner. In May of 2015, partly due to the dismal failure of “Tomorrowland”, Walt Disney Pictures delayed the project indefinitely. According to one Disney exec, it was placed in “cryogenic freeze”.
Eventually, all of these actors/characters moved on to other projects or were written out, and Jared Leto was announced as the titular character, Ares, in March of 2017. EDM pioneers Daft Punk had planned to return to record the score for Tron:Ares as well, but the dynamic DJ duo parted ways in 2021. Principal photography was finally set to begin on August 14, 2023, only to be shut down by the Hollywood Labor Disputes.
Now Filming in Vancouver
Tron: Ares is currently in production in Vancouver. Shooting began on January 20, 2024 with Joachim Ronning directing and Jesse Witugow, Jack Thorne and Steven Lisberger taking over writing duties. Along with Bridges and Leto, the film stars Gillian Anderson, Evan Peters, Kevin Monaghan, Greta Lee and Sarah Desjardins.
Besides Leto being listed as Ares, none of the other major characters have been named. Details are minimal so far, but the central theme appears to be that Ares, a rogue computer program, attempts to break free of the digital world and enter the human one.
What to Expect from Tron: Ares
Considering all of the stops and starts, writes, rewrites, and misfires, it’s hard to say how closely Tron: Ares will follow Tron: Legacy. With the loss of Quorra (Olivia Wilde), Sam Flynn (Garrett Hedlund) and Alan Bradley (Bruce Boxleitner), it will be interesting to see how the writers fill in the gaps. Needless to to say, Jeff Bridges and Jared Leto will bring a lot of star power and recognition to this long-suffering project.
During the podcast, Bridges talked about how the film wouldn’t rely so heavily on CGI and use more realistic sets along with newer tech, such as dynamic digital backdrops. He also shared his unhappiness with how he looked as the younger CLU in Tron: Legacy, saying:
“I didn’t like the way I looked in it. I felt like I looked more like Bill Maher than myself. It was kind of bizarre.”
If CLU does reappear, we can only hope for Jeff’s sake that CGI de-aging technology has gotten a lot better. We’ll just have to wait and see.
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