Jared Leto Drops The First Teaser For ‘Tron: Ares’
Slade Hale
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1982’s Disney classic Tron was a remarkable film that utilized a series of computer generated sequences mixed with special effects technology to create a vision of a future that was largely influenced by the arcade video game craze of the time.
The film was regarded as a cult classic for many years, spawning a direct (now de-canonized) video game sequel story in 2003, followed by a big screen 2010 follow-up starring Garrett Hedlund, Olivia Wilde, and the return of Jeff Bridges in the role of Kevin Flynn. That film failed to make the kind of waves the studio had expected, however, causing future projects to be put on ice for well over a decade, with multiple starts and stops in between.
Fast forward 14 years, and a new Tron film is quickly nearing release. Actor Jared Leto (who is also listed as a producer) stars in the title role of Ares, the film’s namesake. Tron: Ares is set to release in 2025, but the word is already out, along with a black and red-tinted teaser image to try and build hype.
Leto’s fondness for the franchise has been evident for years, and together with director Joachim Rønning, it appears the vision is ready to come to light. However, it remains to be seen what kind of influence Disney will have on the film, given the studio’s penchant for injecting every single property with Woke political messaging.
In addition to Leto, Tron: Ares also stars Jodie Turner-Smith (True Blood), Cameron Monaghan (Gotham, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order), Sarah Desjardins (Van Helsing) and Gillian Anderson (The X-Files). According to available news, the story is supposedly a flip from the original movie’s premise, at least on some level.
The original Tron saw Jeff Bridges’ character Kevin Flynn digitized and drawn into a computer simulation where programs behaved like sentient beings, and responded to the will of the Users, or programmers. Tron: Ares will supposedly inverse that idea, transplanting an artificially intelligent program from the digital world, to the real one.
This concept is nothing new, given the events that took place at the end of Tron: Legacy, but it remains to be seen if this newest story change will shift the focus of the film too much, for the predominant duration. If so, it defeats the purpose of the Tron franchise entirely.
Tron: Ares is set to debut in 2025 after several setbacks, including the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike. Given Disney’s recent controversies over streaming on their Disney+ platform, it is likely a full theatrical release is in the cards, though fan enthusiasm may have waned considerably due to the large gap between franchise entries.