Tron 3, officially titled Tron Ares, is back on track, with Jared Leto set to star and Joachim Rønning poised to direct for Disney. The film is aiming to begin production in the late summer of 2023.
Tron: Legacy director Joseph Kosinski had already moved forward with the idea in 2015. However, Disney would turn their heads to other larger Marvel and Star Wars film projects, putting Tron 3 on the back burner and leading to Kosinski dropping out as director.
Now, Deadline reports Tron's next chapter is moving forward. Early negotiations are underway between Disney and Rønning for the filmmaker to direct Tron: Ares. The outlet notes that a crew is being put together and getting ready to shoot in Vancouver in August 2023. Leto had reportedly signed on to Tron 3 be in the film in 2017, but Disney had other designs for a third film before then. While negotiations are still in their early stages, Disney has previously collaborated with Rønning countless times on other projects, from Maleficent: Mistress of Evil to Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales. Since then, the driven filmmaker has been hard at work at another emerging action-packed and inspiring adventure, Young Woman and the Sea. Tron: Ares' script will be written by Jesse Wigutow, while the list of producers includes Justin Springer (Tron: Legacy), Jared Leto, Emma Lubbrook, and Jeffery Silver. Sean Bailey and Sam Dickerman are on board as executive producers.
In Jeff Bridges' 1982 sci-fi classic Tron, a hacker is kidnaped and forced to participate in a series of combative games inside a computer program called The Grid. The movie would become a cult favorite because of its inventive storytelling and the period's truly spellbinding special effects, paving the way for some of Disney's other successful creations within their arsenal, from Pixar to Marvel films. The publicity the film received would only help it gain more popularity, to the point where Disney would finally decide to make a sequel to the movie titled Tron: Legacy in 2010, in which Bridges would reprise his previous role. The movie would perform remarkably well while also achieving global fame. Disney would need to figure out how to maintain that success and momentum while creating another movie that was superior to what Tron: Legacy had delivered. Tron: Ares could be that answer.
While the studio came close to achieving that goal with Kosinski, it now appears that Rønning will be in charge of carrying on this cherished sci-fi classic's legacy. In 2013, Rønning made his Hollywood debut by directing Kon-Tiki alongside Espen Sanberg, a film that would get his creative talents noticed. Although a release date for his most recent work, Young Women and the Sea, has not yet been set, it has received favorable reviews. This is excellent news if it indicates how the new Tron project will proceed.
While it's too soon to tell if Tron: Ares will top the critically acclaimed Tron: Legacy, Rønning has proven he has the imaginative spirit to keep the franchise alive and exciting.
Tron: Ares is eyeing an August 2023 production start.
Source: Deadline
