Jared Leto confirms he’s involved with the TRON franchise reboot, revealing there have been discussions about continuing the series. Fans of Disney’s classic ’80s sci-fi thriller TRON were left disappointed when the mediocre response to the delayed sequel TRON: Legacy meant that further follow-ups were shown a game-over screen rather than a continue option. But rumors recently circulated that a reboot of the franchise is being planned, and that Jared Leto was going to be a part of it. Those rumors appear to have been substantiated in a recent interview with the Suicide Squad actor, as he responded to a question about the possibility of TRON 3.
At the time of its release in 1982, TRON was a groundbreaking film that was written and directed by Steven Lisberger and produced by Disney. Jeff Bridges played Kevin Flynn, the computer programmer who became trapped inside a software world known as The Grid, which is dominated by a rogue AI program. Bruce Boxleitner played the titular hero fighting against its tyrannical rule. The sequel came 28 years later in 2010, and focused on Flynn’s son Sam played by Garrett Hedlund. Bridges also reprised his original role, and faced-off against a de-aged version of himself. There were ambitious plans for further sequels, but Disney cancelled TRON 3 in 2015 although the project had apparently never been officially green-lit.
Then earlier this year, 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, and that the actor had been approached to play a new character called Ares. No further details have been released since then, but in a recent interview with Collider, Leto did confirm that the project does exist and he is involved. Asked about the original movie - which he states is “one of my favorites” - his response to a query regarding the rumored reboot went like this:
As Leto hints, anything could happen at this stage of development. But the open confirmation of his involvement is promising, as is his declared love for the original film. According to the director of TRON: Legacy, Joseph Kosinski, the cancelled TRON 3 would have been called Ascension, and it would have seen the machine world of The Grid invade the real world. That was also rumored to have featured a character called Ares. Whether the film currently being developed is related to that storyline, or any of the previous plot strands, is not yet known.
“It was a huge movie for me as well and I do think there’s so much potential in that world, there’s so much left to be said. I’m absolutely game to try to help in any way that I can bring that to life… It’s something that we’re in discussions about and very much looking forward to bringing to reality. It’s very early days though.”
There’s still plenty of enthusiasm for the potential of further TRON movies in theaters, but it remains to be seen how this attempt will play out in the development stages. Leto’s current high-profile as The Joker in the DCEU and his pivotal appearance in Blade Runner 2049, may well be the factor that kicks the production into high gear. We’ll let you know if we hear any further news about upgrades to TRON 3.
Next: What Disney’s TRON Reboot Should Do Differently
Source: Collider
