After 15 Years Off the Grid, The First Trailer for Tron: Ares Has Arrived -

By Luis Zonenberg

Despite how large and ever-reaching the Disney company grows, it is easy to overlook many films under their banner. Whole franchises get thrown under the bus, even ones with such a strong fanbase like Tron. The original 1982 film rode off the success of Star Wars, trying to recapture a sense of fun sci-fi families could take their kids to enjoy. It was a moderate success, but quickly grew a cult following.

It is also worth noting that the film even pioneered the use of CGI, being the first to use it at the time. It was even disqualified for a Best VFX Oscar because the Academy felt that using computer animation was “cheating” at the time. While the irony is so sweet to look back on today, the growing expansion of animation and CGI showed the impact the film was already making. Thus in 2003, original director and animator Steve Lisburger already began approaching Disney for a sequel.

With him serving as a producer and hiring Joseph Kosinski for the director’s chair, work quickly began to develop a sequel and properly transform this into a franchise. This would eventually lead to the release of Tron: Legacy in 2010, a more divisive entry for critics to say the least. The film at least did turn out to be a box-office success, earning an Oscar nomination and a TV-spinoff titled Tron: Uprising.

Work was soon underway to make another entry in the series with Lisberger returning to lead the charge. For one reason or another though, the film ended up in development purgatory for almost a decade. It was ultimately placed on the backburner, though, with Disney prioritizing Lucasfilm and Marvel after their success with the Avengers films and Star Wars: the Force Awakens. By 2017, the film was being retooled to serve as a reboot instead of a direct sequel, with Jared Leto attached to star as a character named “Ares.”

Kosinksi was no longer attached to the project as the director, with the chair now moving to Garth Davis. Jesse Wigutow soon confirmed to be the writer. By January of 2023, though, Davis exited the project and was replaced with Joachim Rønning. The script had also been re-written by Jack Thorne, with casting confirmation of Jeff Bridges, who played the protagonist Kevin Flynn in the original movie, returning for the new film.

Their labor soon bore fruit this week with the release of the first trailer for the upcoming film, Tron: Ares. Audiences got a first look at the titular character, with the trailer even showcasing how the programs from the virtual world have somehow been transported into our reality. We even got treated to a taste of the soundtrack from Nine Inch Nails, blasting out some lethal techno rhythms and getting the viewer appropriately excited!

Daft Punk’s work on the previous sequel definitely influenced the decision for the choice of style, with the band guaranteed to deliver a sure fire hit. With a planned October release, fans of the franchise are clearly excited to see what lies next for them. With the first trailer reaching over 11.5 million views in the first four days, it’s clear audiences are ready to return to the grid once more.