Disney has given us our first glimpse of the look of the third Tron movie, and fans are excited. With shooting having begun in January, the company has shared an image of what is presumably Jared Leto's character in Tron: Ares.
But while there definite vintage Tron vibes, fans of the franchise also have questions about a particular design feature (see our character design tips for inspiration for your own work).
Expected to premiere in 2025, Tron: Ares is a sequel to Tron: Legacy from 2010 and the original Tron from 1982. Or is it? There have been doubts about whether the film will be a continuation or a reboot that reintroduces the Tron franchise. And a design detail in the image shared by Disney has fans fearing the latter.
The plot for Tron: Ares sounds timely: it's about AI. Disney says that Leto plays "a highly sophisticated Program, Ares, who is sent from the digital world into the real world on a dangerous mission, marking humankind’s first encounter with AI beings.”
In the director's chair is Joachim Rønning, of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales and the Maleficent sequel. As well as Leto, the cast features Greta Lee, Gillian Anderson, Evan Peters, Hasan Minhaj, Jodie Turner-Smith, Arturo Castro and Cameron Monaghan. We don't know much more than that for the moment, but fans are both excited and concerned.
The only image so far from Tron: Ares (Image credit: Disney)
While many have commented that the costume design would look good as a Fortnite skin, others wonder why the disk on Leto's back is triangular rather than circular, causing them to wonder if the story will take place outside the universe of the previous films. Some say it's giving them League of Legends Project vibes. There's also concern about Disney's revelation that at least some of the story will take place in the real world.
On the other hand, the triangular disc may be to distinguish Ares as a different type of program, and it wouldn't be the first time that a character has had a special disc. Tron's identity disc can be separated into two, for example. Of course, what people really want to know is whether they will be able to convince Daft Punk to come out of retirement to do the soundtrack.
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Joe is a regular freelance journalist and editor at Creative Bloq. He writes news, features and buying guides and keeps track of the best equipment and software for creatives, from video editing programs to monitors and accessories. A veteran news writer and photographer, he now works as a project manager at the London and Buenos Aires-based design, production and branding agency Hermana Creatives. There he manages a team of designers, photographers and video editors who specialise in producing visual content and design assets for the hospitality sector. He also dances Argentine tango.
