It’s a good time to be a fan of Tron. A number of actions and activities are taking place surrounding the once-dormant franchise owned by Disney.
As fans eagerly await the grand opening of Tron Lightcycle Run at Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Disney appears to be working on their trademark synergy to boost the franchise even more. The house of mouse is in early talks for a sequel to Tron: Legacy titled Tron Ares.
According to Deadline, Disney is working with Jared Leto and they are in early negotiations with the director of Maleficent 2 and Pirates of the Caribbean 5, Joachim Rønning. There is no mention in the article of Rønning’s frequent directorial collaborator, Espen Sandberg. In the past, the pair made waves with the 2012 historical drama Kon-Tiki. Kon-Tiki tells the tale of Norwegian explorer Thor Heyerdahl, who sailed by raft from South America to the Polynesian islands. Rønning is also finishing up The Young Woman and the Sea starring Daisy Ridley. The film is about the first woman to swim across the English Channel. (After Kon-Tiki and The Young Woman and the Sea, it makes you wonder if Tron Ares might somehow feature Jared Leto attempting to cross a long, treacherous body of water in the Grid.)
This is not the first time that Disney has attempted to make a sequel to the cult classic Tron: Legacy (or its predecessor Tron). According to Deadline, Tron Ares with Jared Leto was very close to being made in 2017. However, 2 years before that in 2015 the Walt Disney Company announced a follow-up to Tron: Legacy with most of the big names attached like Olivia Wilde, Garret Hedlund, screenwriters Adam Horowitz and Edward Kitsis. Production was scheduled for October of that year but was reportedly cancelled due to Disney’s hesitation after the failure of Tomorrowland. Tron: Legacy director Joseph Kosinski was also attached to direct in 2015. It is not known whether he would have agreed to return after the success of his 2022 film, Top Gun: Maverick.
While Tron: Legacy received mixed reviews upon release, the one item that all reviewers seemed to agree on was the soundtrack from Daft Punk was spectacular. It is still being reissued and sold at big box retailers to this day. Daft Punk has since disbanded and there is no mention if they will be returning.
If you’re looking for a great trip down memory lane, you might check the episode of Dan Lanigan’s Prop Culture that centers on Tron, it’s impact, and of course the memorabilia it spawned. The show is a real gem of the Disney+ library and we would love to report on season 2 if it should ever occur.
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