The first teaser trailer for Tron: Ares was recently released and director Joachim Rønning teases details about Jared Leto’s character.
After a successful debut at CinemaCon, the first teaser trailer for Tron: Ares was released over the weekend, giving us our first taste of the Grid in fifteen years. The sequel 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 plays Ares, and director Joachim Rønning spilled a few details about the character while speaking with Empire.
“Not to be too clichéd, but I always thought about him a bit like Pinocchio,” Rønning said. “Ares wants to be a real boy. We talked a lot about him almost being an infant, discovering the world for the first time, and how we wanted the audience to see the world through his eyes. The little things that we take for granted, or don’t see anymore. That was important. And then a bigger theme for the film is what it takes — what it means — to be human. Especially in this case, because he’s a computer program.“
As seen in the teaser trailer and poster, Ares is a little different from programs we’ve seen in prior movies. His Identity Disc even gets an upgrade, moving from a circular shape to a triangular one. “It’s definitely a weapon,” Rønning said. “And it’s just a superior disc.” The director added that the regular discs will still be present. “When you’re a part of a franchise, you want to evolve the design, although I’m sure people are gonna freak out that it’s not round: ‘Oh no!’ But we have round discs as well,” he explained. “Take it easy.“
Even before the release of Tron: Legacy, a third Tron movie was in the early stages of development. Disney even greenlit the project with Joseph Kosinski back in the director’s chair and Garret Hedlund and Olivia Wilde returning, but the studio pulled the plug just a few months before production was set to begin. After a few more years of hibernation, the project was rebooted with Leto set to star. Given the history, I honestly didn’t think this one would cross the finish line, but I’m more than ready to return to the Grid.
In addition to Leto, Tron: Ares stars Evan Peters, Greta Lee, Jodie Turner-Smith, Gillian Anderso, Cameron Monaghan, Sarah Desjardins, Hasan Minhaj, and Arturo Castro. Jeff Bridges also returns as Kevin Flynn. The film will hit theaters on October 10th. It’s also been rumoured that Tron: Legacy will finally make the leap to 4K Ultra HD this year, likely to coincide with the release of Tron: Ares. Fingers crossed.
