Summary

• Disney revealed the first look at the main character of TRON: Ares, sparking curiosity about his connection to previous films.
• TRON: Ares is the long-awaited third installment in the iconic franchise which began in 1982.
• The character Ares may be a newcomer to the TRON franchise, but he was originally written for a scrapped sequel, TRON: Ascension.

Disney released the first look at TRON: Ares’ titular main character, raising questions about whether he appeared in TRON or TRON: Legacy. After almost 14 years in development hell, the third installment of the TRON franchise – titled Tron: Ares – is officially underway and is expected to be released in 2025. The beloved franchise started in 1982 when the first movie, adapted from the eponymous book by Ernest Cline, was released to critical and audience acclaim. Disney's TRON quickly amassed a large cult following due to the movie's incredible visuals, music, and concept.

Despite the original's cult classic following, the second TRON movie didn't come out in theaters until the end of 2010. Before TRON: Legacy premiered, creator Steven Lisberger announced a sequel to the film – movies delayed due to the SAG-AFTRA strike. Production for TRON: Ares began in January 2024, and the first looks of Jared Leto's Ares – the titular protagonist – are now available.

Jared Leto's Ares Program Is Brand-New For TRON: Ares

The character Ares from TRON: Ares is new to the franchise, not appearing in either TRON or TRON: Legacy. Despite this, the character wasn't created for the TRON: Ares script. Instead, the Jared Leto character was pulled from the script of the canceled direct sequel, TRON: Ascension. Despite the script not being available publicly, The Hollywood Reporter shared that Ares was a key character. In addition to using the existing character as the protagonist, many elements of the plot were also borrowed for TRON: Ares, updating it to be more relevant to modern issues of concern.

According to director Joseph Kosinski, TRON: Ascension would've inverted the concept of TRON, bringing characters from the video game outward instead of bringing humans inward. The movie would've incorporated both the real world and the multiple worlds of TRON. This would've incorporated Olivia Wilde's Quorra from TRON: Legacy as well as new characters like Ares (via Geek Tyrant). Unfortunately, this movie was canceled in May 2015 due to the failure of Disney's Tomorrowland. However, the idea of the game characters coming into the real world was retained for TRON: Ares, broaching the topic of A.I., instead of human-digital hybrids.

The A.I. change in TRON: Ares feels appropriate considering the topic has gained more attention due to the Writer's Strike and SAG-AFTRA Strike of 2023.

Everything We Know About TRON 3's Ares Character

The creative team for Tron 3 have kept their cards close to the chest, keeping much of the storyline and characters a secret. As such, not much is known about Jared Leto's character Ares from TRON: Ares. Ares is reportedly the protagonist of the film, though his filling that role doesn't necessarily mean he'll be a good or bad character – just that the plot will follow his story. He's a highly sophisticated artificial intelligence program that will venture into the real world. The central question will explore what it means to be human.

Based on the first look photos, Tron: Ares is bringing back the 42-year-old design choice of incorporating suits with red lighting. In the original film, the villain Sark and his cronies wore suits with red lighting. The structure of the suit is updated from the original, though, looking more akin to the ones from TRON: Legacy. As such, it combines the best elements of both movies and hints at Ares' possible role in the plot of TRON 3.

How TRON: Legacy Set Up The Rogue Ares Program

Even though the events of TRON and TRON: Legacy involve humans being sucked into the game, the latter set up the idea of the rogue Ares program coming into the real world in TRON: Ares. In TRON: Legacy, Clu is a malevolent program that mirrors Flynn and tries to leave the game for the real world. Flynn's son, Sam, spends most of the movie trying to save his father and prevent Clu from escaping the world of TRON. This is the first hint that it's not just humans that can come inside the game. Instead, technological programs can come outside.

This idea is then confirmed at the end of TRON: Legacy when Olivia Wilde's program, Quorra enters the real world. However, unlike Ares in TRON: Ares, Quorra became a flesh-and-blood human when she entered the real world. Based on the details available about the TRON movie, Ares will be an artificial intelligence program that exits the game rather than a human-digital hybrid. It's unclear whether Ares will eventually become a human in TRON: Ares.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter and Geek Tyrant