Enter: Tron 3
A third film was finally confirmed being developed in 2015, but Disney ended up canceling Tron 3 in the same year. Garrett Hedlund later stated the cancellation was partly because of the box office disappointment of Brad Bird’s Tomorrowland, which came right before the third Tron would have filmed and it affected Tron 3’s chances of happening (something that was believed but never confirmed). According to the director of TRON: Legacy, the canceled Tron 3 would have been called Ascension, and it would have seen the machine world of The Grid invade the real world.
There is also an animated show named Tron: Uprising (2012-13) which takes in between the storylines of the two movies. Unfortunately, the series was also canceled just after 19 episodes. In 2017 rumors started to appear that a TRON reboot was in development with Jared Leto set to star. Reports suggested that the film was in early planning stages at that time and that the actor had been approached to play a new character called Ares. But not much is heard since then.
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Also according to THR, a Tron TV series on Disney+ was scrapped before it ever got its light cycle (The show was never officially greenlit). Writer-director John Ridley (12 Years a Slave) had reportedly been working on it for several months and was given the red signal just days before last year’s D23 Expo. It is unknown why the studio decided to scrap the project, the reason reported was due to the cost and Disney’s enthusiasm for bringing the world of Grid back to the big screen. Surprisingly it looks like the studio is still wanting to make a movie.
Development Of Tron 3 Is On Track Once Again
The original Tron has a cult following and despite receiving mixed-to-negative reviews from critics, TRON: Legacy was mostly received a positive response from audiences. Since the film release, it gained its own following too and became a fan-favorite among sci-fi lovers, which is why fans continually clamoring Disney to green light another film.
From a critical standpoint, many critics stated Tron: Legacy lacked enough substance in the story, but it’s undeniably praised for its visually stunning graphics, production design, kick-ass Daft Punk score, and sound editing. It has now been ten years since Legacy hit theaters, and while fans continue to hold out hope for a possible Tron 3, things are looking bright for the future.
The Disinsider reports Tron 3 is in development for real this time and a director search is currently underway.
Morbius star Jared Leto is still reportedly attached to the project. The film is expected to be more of a Tron sequel, rather than a reboot as previously expected to be the case. Meanwhile, there’s a chance that some or all of the cast from Tron: Legacy could return (Jeff Bridges, Garrett Hedlund, Olivia Wilde). It is unknown at this time if the film will follow the same story as the canceled previous third Tron film, Tron: Ascension, or a new story.
Recently in the Light the Fuse podcast, President of Music & Soundtracks at Disney Mitchell Leib told that he’s had discussions with Daft Punk (who did the amazing music for Legacy) about the possibility of returning to provide the soundtrack for the untitled third movie. Their futuristic, electronic musical style helped bring the sci-fi Grid world to life.
Leib revealed:
“We’re looking at making a ‘Tron 3’. We’ve got a great script. A really phenomenal script that we’re very excited about. Whereas the timing wasn’t right to do it years ago, I think we feel the timing is right, now. We learned a lot of lessons from [‘Tron: Legacy’].” Leib also said “The right and first thing to do is to bring Daft Punk back and see if they want to [return]…We don’t even know who will be directing yet. We’re hopeful that Joe Kosinski will come back and do another one…A lot of things gotta fall into the right places…”
Since there is no official confirmation from Disney regarding Tron 3, we have to take this as a significant rumor. But things are starting to come to order so this is exciting news to hear especially to the long-awaiting Tron fans. Hopefully franchise star Jeff Bridges will return as well. Also, most of the franchise fans strongly want to see a continuation of Tron: Legacy story with the return of Hedlund and Wilde. So it will be interesting to see whether Disney wants to take the grid in a sequel route or a reboot.
Are you a Tron: Legacy fan? Do you want to see Tron 3 made? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below or on our social media and be sure to come back to The Illuminerdi for more movie news.
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