The original “TRON” came out in 1982. It was about a guy who gets sucked into a video game, and it featured then-groundbreaking visual effects that took the audience inside the digital world alongside the characters. It developed a cult following over the years, thanks in part to the kitschy way those innovative computer graphics aged, and in 2010, it spawned a sequel called “TRON: Legacy.”
The second one was even better. This time, CG-assisted special effects had developed tremendously, and “TRON: Legacy” uses them to full effect, and it deserves more love than it ultimately received. Jeff Bridges returned to play Kevin Flynn again, de-aged with the help of technology; it doesn’t look realistic, necessarily, but that’s not a bad thing for a movie that takes place inside a video game. Thanks also in part to a pulsating, thrilling score by Daft Punk, the movie is a glitched-out digital delight that reinvigorated interest in the property.
Then everything went dormant again! By the time “TRON: Ares” comes out in 2025, it will have been 15 years since the last film. “Legacy” was worth the wait, though, so there’s a good chance this one will be, too. It’ll star Jared Leto, Jodie Turner-Smith, Greta Lee, and more, and Bridges will once again return to play Flynn. He told the Film Comment podcast, “The technology, I’m anxious to see what this one will be. And I hear that in a way, there’s even less AI stuff in this. It’s gonna be more practical sets, and they’re beautiful.”