Jared Leto’s Ares May Not Be Under Human Control in TRON

Disney is firing up hype for its big San Diego Comic-Con presentation with the release of an all-new trailer for TRON: Ares, the next chapter in the franchise’s future. Directed by Joachim Rønning, TRON: Ares will launch a new storyline for the famous science fiction saga, one that transports the brand to the real world.

It’s been a while since we stepped into the Grid. TRON: Legacy transported audiences into the video game universe created by Sam Flynn (Garrett Hedlund), the son of TRON hero Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges), back in 2010. After successfully thwarting Clu, the villainous program from the Grid set on destroying the physical world to free himself from Kevin Flynn’s control, Flynn and isomorphic algorithm (ISO) Quorra (Olivia Wilde) took flight and defected back to the real world.

Production on TRON 3 began while the cameras were still rolling on Legacy. The film was planned to immediately follow up on the events of Legacy with a screenplay that would continue the saga and further explore Sam and Quorra’s relationship. As Sam took on the corporate reins of his father’s technology empire, ENCOM, the third TRON film would continue the story. Disney gave the studio’s go-ahead in October 2010, just days after Legacy hit theaters. But the gears ground to a halt before they could fully get going. TRON 3 was canceled by Disney in 2015, with the decision reportedly following Tomorrowland’s box office disappointment.

But TRON’s future would find a new path to the future. In 2020, Disney dusted off the project, with TRON: Ares originally conceived as a reboot rather than a direct sequel to Legacy. It did pick up some existing elements, most notably the lead character of Ares, an artificial intelligence program which had been at the center of many past versions of the third TRON film script. After overcoming production delays, including pandemic shutdowns and recent Hollywood labor stoppages, TRON: Ares is back in business and ready to fly in the fall.

The official description from Disney reads: “TRON: Ares follows 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 A.I. beings.” Jared Leto stars as Ares alongside Evan Peters as Julian Dillinger and Greta Lee as Eve Kim. The ensemble cast also includes Jodie Turner-Smith, Cameron Monaghan, Sarah Desjardins, Hasan Minhaj, Arturo Castro, and Gillian Anderson. The film reunites Jeff Bridges as Kevin Flynn, the protagonist of the original TRON film. The original film’s soundtrack composer, electronic rock band Nine Inch Nails, will score TRON: Ares.

Trailer Breakdown: “The Ultimate Soldier” Lands on Earth

The first TRON: Ares trailer was a blast of pure TRON visuals that dropped back in April. Decked out in the film’s stunning neon aesthetic — bright digital lightlines, lightcycles, and stark computerized environments — the trailer showed off everything that makes TRON so unique. But after teasing at a battle royale against an AI monstrosity, the trailer didn’t give much away plot-wise.

The new trailer released this week keeps the franchise’s visuals intact while also hinting at some of the character motivations at the story’s core.

The new trailer opens with a bit of ‘technology keynote’ flavor, as Dillinger (Evan Peters) addresses a crowd of rapt listeners, before channeling Elon Musk by saying: “So much talk of AI and big tech today. Virtual worlds, what are they going to look like? When will we get there? Well, folks. We’re not going there. They are coming here.”

Dillinger then reveals his creation, the Ares (Jared Leto), which he dubs an “ultimate soldier”. A bit of a Tony Stark type, Dillinger gloats to the audience, “He’s biblically strong, lightning fast, and supremely intelligent. And if he is struck down on the battlefield…” and knocks Ares off the stage mid-speech, “…I will simply make you another.” So here’s Dillinger: a heartless corporate player who thinks he knows better about the future of A.I.

But according to the trailer, things may not be so cut and dried. Dillinger may think he has Ares figured out and can control him, but Ares has his mind and is going on a journey of his own, “searching for something he can’t even name.” This would seem to be a new kind of philosophical move for a TRON film, and it’s brought into even sharper relief as Kevin Flynn himself shows up in the virtual world, questioning, “A malfunctioning program who wants to live, why is that?”

Nostalgia for the OG TRON fan will no doubt catch with the Bridges casting as Flynn. But Leto’s Ares, as an A.I. power-player leaping the physical realm, seems like an interesting evolution of the story’s long-running commentaries on the human vs. machine divide. Big action? Check. Bigger questions about the ethics of A.I. and their right to an autonomous existence? Also check.

Visually, the film should maintain the high standard the series is known for, and early glimpses of Rønning’s TRON: Ares blend bright, hyper-technical techscapes with a more lived-in, grounded feel from the real world. The film will also boast an original soundtrack by Nine Inch Nails, whose music should make for a darkly ambient, cinematic listening experience.

After years of false starts, delays, and restarts, it appears TRON: Ares is finally, truly on track. Fans can hold off on the countdown for now, but will want to mark October 10, 2025, on the calendar as the day TRON: Ares arrives in theaters to launch a new story into the future.