TRON: What Do I Want From A Third Movie

Hey guys, I just remembered that I forgot to upload the script for three YouTube movies I posted on my channel. The first script is on the development of the third TRON movie, also called TRON: Ares, starring Jared Leto. The script is shown below, but of course feel free to watch the video instead. If you want, please like the video or subscribe to my YouTube channel. That will help me out a lot. Thanks!

Introduction

Somehow it does not feel it has been 11 years since the release of second TRON movie – TRON: Legacy. Directed by Joseph Kosinski and starring Garret Hedlund, Olivia Wilde and Jeff Bridges the movie did not make the kind of splash that was hoped for.

It was a good sequel, but also forgettable, and with earnings just over 400 million against a budget of 170 million it made a third movie a risky endeavor. According to the rule of thumb movies usually have to earn about 3 times their budget. With the decent home-video sales Legacy managed just about that, but not much more.

This put into question the popularity of the franchise. While I am a fan of the original 1982 TRON movie even, I can see it is dated and flawed. I am not sure youngsters would ever see it. The first few years after TRON: Legacy most fans of the franchise expected Disney to ditch TRON completely, but instead it has managed to persist.

Rumors of a third TRON movie remained, with the director of Legacy Joseph Kosinski set to direct. TRON also briefly had its own animated series – TRON: Uprising – in 2012. Since 2016 there is also a TRON ride at Shanghai Disneyland and soon also at Tomorrowland in the Magic Kingdom. So, Disney has not ditched TRON at all, but appears to be popularizing it.

Return of TRON: Legacy

Slowly since 2010 TRON: Legacy also appears to become better known, and liked. I see references to the movie more often. For a few years now it is clear a third TRON movie is in the works, but Disney is hoping for the stars to align. Then in 2017 rumors began that Jared Leto was set to star in the third movie, an announcement that caused much consternation as the actor has had no prior involvement. On his Twitter account he teased the title as being TRON: Ares. Considering Jared Leto’s penchant for playing villains it is without a doubt he would play subtitle character.

Then the search the for a director began, many had hoped Joseph Kosinski would return but in August 2020 it was confirmed Gareth Davis would direct using a script by Jesse Wigutow. However, with the pandemic development has been slow. In August of this year the production attracted Patrice Vermette as production designer after previously working on Denis Villeneuve’s Dune.

Right now, filming is set to start in the summer of 2022, starring Jared Leto and maybe Liu Yifei, star of Mulan. It is unclear if any of the actors from the original movie or its sequel will return. Many hoped Jeff Bridges, Garret Hedlund and Olivia Wilde would. Besides Bruce Boxleitner who plays the title character.

So that brings me to the reason for making this movie – What Do I Want From a Third TRON Movie?

Splash, starring Olivia Wilde

TRON: Legacy ends with Sam and Quorra riding of into the sunset on his Ducati, a scene long foreshadowed in the movie. For Quorra it is her first time in the real world. It was long hoped by fans that the third TRON movie would explore this possibility further. Quorra would be a fish out of water, but would also have abilities that are part of her nature as an Isomorphic Algorithms or ISO . Actress Olivia Wilde was keen to return as Quorra and stated the movie Splash as inspiration. Splash is the 80s movie starring Tom Hanks with Daryl Hannah portraying a mermaid who has to learn all kinds of human skills when she decides to live on land.

Basically, it is a romantic comedy, though Hannah’s character is being pursued by scientist who want to dissect her. As part of the third TRON movie that could well be a plot point. At this moment it is unclear if Olivia Wilde or Garrett Hedlund will even return, the Ares subtitle suggests a story very different from the prior movie. Meanwhile Olivia Wilde and Garrett Hedlund have seen their careers soars, especially Wilde who has since become a director of note. I can understand that TRON will only remain in their rearview mirror.

Revenge at ENCOM

One of the weirdest parts of TRON: Legacy is the opening scene in which Sam sabotages the latest release of ENCOM’s operating system. In it we see a character named Edward Dillinger, Jr, son of the villain from the first movie, being played by Cillian Murphy. While he actively attempts to undo the sabotage by Sam he is rather blasé after he fails. He casually walks away from the board room meeting and appears to be phoning an associate. It is a small role. But it did speak volumes and it is one of the many loose ends from the sequel. Dillinger Jr is as such an enigmatic character. One of the plot points that could be explored is Dillinger Jr. being aware of the Laser technology that allows people and objects to be digitized.

The return of TRON

The final thing I would want out of a new TRON movie is more TRON. The titular character has a surprisingly small role in both movies. In the first Kevin is the lead and, in the sequel, it is his son Sam. Yet the TRON program, created by Alan Bradley arguably saves the day in both stories. While TRON died at the end of TRON: Legacy it would be cool if we could see another iteration of the character. After all, a program can easily be created again if the source code still remains. Seeing more of Alan Bradley would also be great.

Meanwhile Disney could promote the TRON franchise more. While the Fortnite crossover is a start I do not play Fortnite. A dedicated game would be fantastic, one is rumored to be in development but rumors exist for many popular franchises. Meanwhile we are rapidly approaching the 40^th anniversary of the original movie and an updated Blu-Ray release is highly wanted.

Conclusion

Finally, if possible, it would be great for fans to see an in-depth analysis of the themes of the TRON franchises. Such books have become quite popular in the last few years. I have such books on Dune, Blade Runner and The Matrix. In fact, right now I am drafting a proposal towards such a book. Several publishing companies develop those series: Carus books, Blackwell and Open Court Publishing. With a third movie on the way this would seem to be the best moment for such a book. Tell me what you think about that in the comments section below.

Well, that was it for this movie. Please click on the like button so YouTube will feature my video more widely. If you want to see more content on TRON then please become a subscriber. That will help my channel a lot.