Tron: Ares crosses over in October

Steevy Maximus

Well known pompous pontificator
Citizen
The long in development 3rd Tron film finally saw a trailer drop. After the lackluster performance of Tron Legacy, the third film was reworked from a direct sequel to a “stand alone entry” originally slated for Disney+. Directed by Joachim Ronning (Pirates of the Caribbean 5, Maleficent 2) with music by Nine Inch Nails, the film features Jared Leto, Greta Lee, Evan Peters, Gillian Anderson and…Jeff Bridges returning as Kevin Flynn!
Slated for release October 10, 2025

 

DefaultOption

Sourball
Citizen
I loved the original, and I even enjoyed Legacy, as much as the last act seemed like the writers had a case of 'oh, I guess we have to end the movie now, here's some unsatisfying hand-waving', but there's nothing in that trailer that makes me think I can't wait for it to hit D+. 🤷‍♂️
 

LordGigaIce

Another babka?
Citizen
I quite liked Legacy (Tron Legacy is a better The Last Jedi then The Last Jedi) so I'm a bit disappointment that this doesn't seem like it follows up on anything from that movie.
 

Ceir

Active member
Citizen
I quite liked Legacy (Tron Legacy is a better The Last Jedi then The Last Jedi) so I'm a bit disappointment that this doesn't seem like it follows up on anything from that movie.
Yeah, unfortunately the Tron 3 that was an actual sequel to Legacy was torpedoed after Tomorrowland flopped. Disney took that as "audiences don't like non-Star Wars science fiction" and scuttled it.

I am a Tron fan, and I'm still not sure how I feel about Ares. I have reservations based on what I've read, and I don't like Jared Leto as an actor, but I'm willing to give it one chance. I mean, it might be great! But I'm going in very cautiously.

Man, Disney still doesn't know what to do with Tron, do they. There's the Legacy-based rollercoaster down in World, they're finally kicking Ares out the door, there's a trickle of collectible merch thanks to the parks, but...I dunno. Ares is something like the third attempt at a third movie, they did Uprising so very dirty with scheduling and lack of advertising (and then never releasing it physically either), and other than that there's just nothing.

Friend and I were talking about the very subject, and he floated that if Uprising hadn't gotten cut off at the knees - if they had gotten just 2-3 more episodes to wrap things up, they could have pivoted, made the story flow into Legacy and make the show's case of prequel-itis actually mean something narratively. Like, let the show end with Tron turning into Rinzler, Beck taking the Tron name as a codename (which then uncouples Boxleitner from the role), and Kevin & Quorra disappering into the outlands. Would it have been clunky and kinda depressing? Yeah, probably. But it would have had some flow and some story meaning going into the next (timeline) movie.
 

LordGigaIce

Another babka?
Citizen
Yeah, unfortunately the Tron 3 that was an actual sequel to Legacy was torpedoed after Tomorrowland flopped. Disney took that as "audiences don't like non-Star Wars science fiction" and scuttled it.
I liked Tron Legacy and I liked Tomorrowland. I even liked John Carter. That whole era of live action Disney is severely underrated and its box office failure contributed to our current pop culture stagnation.
It's not like this stuff was terribly original either, all of it was derivative of older properties... but at least there was a willingness to play with those properties and try to make original stories with them. And if nothing else they provided some variety. Sadly those three movies' underperformance probably convinced Disney to just go all in on Marvel and Star Wars and we're worse off for it.

Thing is I'm not against Tron 3 being a stand alone story in and of itself if it's got a story worth telling.
It's just... man... I don't like the feeling I'm getting that this movie is going to try and pretend Legacy never happened.

*the exception is Lone Ranger. That thing was awful and deserved to bomb
 

Ceir

Active member
Citizen
I liked Tron Legacy and I liked Tomorrowland. I even liked John Carter. That whole era of live action Disney is severely underrated and its box office failure contributed to our current pop culture stagnation.
It's not like this stuff was terribly original either, all of it was derivative of older properties... but at least there was a willingness to play with those properties and try to make original stories with them. And if nothing else they provided some variety. Sadly those three movies' underperformance probably convinced Disney to just go all in on Marvel and Star Wars and we're worse off for it.

Thing is I'm not against Tron 3 being a stand alone story in and of itself if it's got a story worth telling.
It's just... man... I don't like the feeling I'm getting that this movie is going to try and pretend Legacy never happened.

*the exception is Lone Ranger. That thing was awful and deserved to bomb
Not wrong in any capacity, I don't think. Side tangent: John Carter was surprisingly good. The failure was in the desperate attempts to not 'reveal' the Mars thing, IIRC because some other animated movie involving Mars was a bust.
 

Rhinox

too old for this
Citizen
John Carter was a damn good movie. I'll absolutely die on that hill.
I would be excited for this, but I just cannot stand Jared Leto. Maybe when it's cheap to rent or comes to streaming . . .
 

Steevy Maximus

Well known pompous pontificator
Citizen
...
What are you scheming, Hasbro?!



Keep in mind that image came from FLOPPY DISKS that Hasbro left around its booth!
 
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Tuxedo Prime

Well-known member
Citizen
The second trailer above inspired me to prompt-generate a conceptual mashup over in the gaming threads. As it's not entirely germane to the upcoming film I'm not showing it in this thread, but given my post history, you can likely guess where I did display it.... 😉
 

Dake

Well-known member
Citizen
i'd be a lot more excited if Jared Leto wasn't in this. Like, the trailers are interesting, I'm curious about the story, but i really can't get over my distain of that man.
I really don't know how he keeps getting work.
 

Steevy Maximus

Well known pompous pontificator
Citizen
Reviews from the mainstream critics are rolling in for Tron Ares and...it's a mixed bag. Plot, writing and all the typical "meat" of a movie are generally being lambasted, while the action sequences and, ESPECIALLY, NIN's soundtrack are getting almost unanimous praise across the board. Basically an empty film with perfunctory plot to set up dynamic visual and audio set pieces. Which is generally the consensus that came from Legacy (and review averages seem to be landing in the same area as well).

Current critic rating for Ares stands at 53%. For comparison, Legacy sits at 51% and the original sits at a modest 61% (though, it is generally more respected these days than at release).


I'll be seeing it at some point tomorrow. Was MAYBE looking at an IMAX screening...but after the lackluster reviews I might just settle on a normal screening (plus I'm cheap AF).
 

Fero McPigletron

Feel the fear!
Citizen
I like it a lot. The light cycle barrier effects were great, also in weapons now. The flying stuff, the water stuff, anything with chasing was so cool to see. Yes, I noticed the music was aaaaawesome.

Jared Leto was ok because he was robot like at the start. When he started acting, I didn't like it. Not because his acting was bad or anything but I hate the idea that 'robots' or 'ai' or whatever want to experience human life etc etc.

Why 29min?
 

Exatron

Kaiser Dragon
Citizen
...
What are you scheming, Hasbro?!



Keep in mind that image came from FLOPPY DISKS that Hasbro left around its booth!
So the rumored Tron figures out have turned out to be the next HasLab project. It's a set of five 3.75" figures (Flynn, Tron, Yori, Sark, and a generic program), two light cycles, and a light-up display base. I don't really like 3.75" figures (I prefer 6"), but these look nicely detailed, well-articulated, and look pretty nice. Overall, seems like a pretty nice set...

...just not $260 nice.

 

Steevy Maximus

Well known pompous pontificator
Citizen
So the rumored Tron figures out have turned out to be the next HasLab project. It's a set of five 3.75" figures (Flynn, Tron, Yori, Sark, and a generic program), two light cycles, and a light-up display base. I don't really like 3.75" figures (I prefer 6"), but these look nicely detailed, well-articulated, and look pretty nice. Overall, seems like a pretty nice set...

...just not $260 nice.

There’s also 6” figures on deck, though they look to be Pulse exclusive, maybe? Wouldn’t surprise me if 6” Classic Tron was in the works, but they just don’t want to take away from the HasLab offering.

I’m mixed on the HasLab. Pricing isn’t BAD (average $18 per figure, plus $40 for each cycle plus another 20 for the light up base?)…but it sits in a strange middle point of being a pretty solid set (though, I would have preferred a Warrior instead of generic red program) to being not complete enough if this ends up a one off deal (Warrior, RAM, plus cycles for Tron and Ram). So…I got to think on this. At least Hasbro is giving ample time on this, though it would be nice to hear of some unlockables (like Red Flynn or Ram).


The new movie?
It was okay. I find it strange/amusing to see the film kind of fall into the same trap Legacy fell into where it seems to have the seeds of some really novel ideas or concepts…but never has the means or will to follow through on them. It’s also a very confused film, seemingly unable to juggle the myriad of ideas, needs and obligations that seem to have been foisted upon it. It wants to be a stand alone film, but it feels compelled to acknowledge Legacy existed, even as the film retreads “vibes” from Legacy. Where as Legacy tried to forge its own path, this one feels FAR more compelled to nostalgia bait. I also miss the “counter culture” vibes the first two sported. The dynamic between two rich people trying to dictate the direction of AI is a bit of a hard sell when we see how the real world is acting in regards to AI as a concept. There are a number of areas where I think some minor creative changes might have helped to drastically improve the emotional and narrative connections, especially between Eve and Ares.

Between the two TRON sequels, this one felt more “franchise-y”. Ares spends far less time in the wonder of the digital frontier, but in exchange you get a much brisker film that maintains a solid momentum. But while Legacy was content to do nods and callbacks, Ares engages in full on fan service (much of which doesn’t make THAT much sense). And while the action sequences are excellent all around…I still see the “strings” of its origin as a Disney+ project that got “up-budgeted” to a full theatrical release level all over the film. Plus a BUNCH of sequel baiting Legacy largely avoided outside of some DVD extras.

That negativity aside…it’s a solid “smart dumb movie”. Turn your brain down low, and it will do a decent job of being just smart enough to keep you engaged, but its core narrative is a pretty straight forward action flick. And while we don’t linger in the CG world of the Grid that much, the action sequences are superbly well directed and Reznor’s NIN soundtrack is strikingly compelling. Like Legacy, it’s not as “sophisticated” as I think it WANTS us to think, but watch it on the big screen with a booming soundtrack and it’s an audiovisual feast. It’s just a bit sad the story doesn’t quite live up to it’s visual and audio pedigree.
 

Exatron

Kaiser Dragon
Citizen
There’s also 6” figures on deck, though they look to be Pulse exclusive, maybe? Wouldn’t surprise me if 6” Classic Tron was in the works, but they just don’t want to take away from the HasLab offering.

I’m mixed on the HasLab. Pricing isn’t BAD (average $18 per figure, plus $40 for each cycle plus another 20 for the light up base?)…but it sits in a strange middle point of being a pretty solid set (though, I would have preferred a Warrior instead of generic red program) to being not complete enough if this ends up a one off deal (Warrior, RAM, plus cycles for Tron and Ram). So…I got to think on this. At least Hasbro is giving ample time on this, though it would be nice to hear of some unlockables (like Red Flynn or Ram).
Good to know about the 6" figures. I don't think I'm a big enough Tron fan to use up money and space I don't have on them, but they certainly look a lot more tempting.

On the HasLab pricing though, unless I'm missing something in the set, I think your math's off. $40 feels ludicrous to me for a 3.75"-scale motorcycle, but I have no idea what the pricing for such stuff is like, so I'll run with it. Two cycles at $40 each is $80. Add $20 for the base, and we're up to $100. Of the set's $260 cost, that leaves $160 to be split across five figures. That's $32 per 3.75" figure. Again, I don't buy these, so maybe I'm completely out of touch. But when a quick check on Pulse is showing 6" figures for $25 and 3.75" figures for $17, $32 per figure feels very excessive, even accounting for the HasLab upcharge.
 


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