Tron fans have plenty to be excited about in 2025. After a long hiatus, the franchise is set to return to the big screen this October with a new installment titled Tron: Ares. This third Tron movie features Jared Leto as the titular character, a program embarking on a high-stakes and enigmatic mission in the real world.

But can we truly call Ares a sequel? Visually, the film is unmistakably connected to 2010's Tron: Legacy, as evidenced by the newly released trailer. The shift from Daft Punk to Nine Inch Nails for the score underscores the continued emphasis on an electronica-heavy soundtrack.

However, in other aspects, Ares appears more like a soft reboot than a direct sequel. The absence of key characters from Legacy raises questions. Why aren't stars Garrett Hedlund and Olivia Wilde reprising their roles as Sam Flynn and Quorra? And why is Jeff Bridges, a veteran of the Tron series, the only confirmed returning cast member? Let's delve deeper into how Legacy set up its sequel and why Ares seems to be diverging from that path.

TRON: Ares Images

2 ImagesGarrett Hedlund’s Sam Flynn & Olivia Wilde’s Quorra

Tron: Legacy primarily focuses on the intertwined journeys of Garrett Hedlund's Sam Flynn and Olivia Wilde's Quorra. Sam, the son of Jeff Bridges' character Kevin Flynn, the CEO of Encom who vanished in 1989, enters The Grid to rescue his father and thwart Kevin's creation, CLU, from invading the real world with a digital army.

During his quest, Sam reconnects with his father and encounters Quorra, an ISO—a spontaneously generated digital lifeform within The Grid. Quorra symbolizes the potential for life within a digital realm. By the film's end, Sam defeats CLU and returns to the real world with Quorra, who has been transformed into a flesh-and-blood being.

Legacy sets a clear stage for a sequel, with Sam ready to take on his role as Encom's largest shareholder and lead the company towards a more open-source future, with Quorra as a testament to the digital world's marvels. The home video release even includes a short film, Tron: The Next Day, which shows Sam beginning to steer Encom into a new era.

Despite this setup, neither Hedlund nor Wilde are returning for Tron: Ares, which is a notable omission. Disney's decision to pivot to a more standalone narrative for Ares might be influenced by Legacy's box office performance, which, while not a failure, did not meet Disney's expectations, grossing $409.9 million worldwide against a $170 million budget. This, coupled with other underperforming live-action films from that period, may have led Disney to reconsider a direct continuation of the plot.

However, Sam and Quorra are integral to the Tron narrative, and their absence leaves a significant gap. We hope Ares will at least acknowledge their importance, if not bring them back in surprise cameo roles.

The absence of Cillian Murphy, who played Edward Dillinger, Jr., in Legacy, is equally puzzling. Murphy's character, the head of Encom's software development and a staunch opponent of Sam's open-source vision, was clearly set up for a larger role in a sequel. His brief appearance in Legacy hinted at a future where he would become the main human antagonist, much like his father in the original Tron.

The Tron: Ares trailer suggests the return of the Master Control Program (MCP), with Ares and other programs marked by the MCP's signature red highlights. This implies a darker mission for Ares, though his role as hero or villain remains unclear. If the MCP is back, why isn't Edward Dillinger, Jr.? And why is Gillian Anderson's new character now central to the Encom board?

However, Evan Peters is set to play Julian Dillinger, indicating the Dillinger family's continued involvement. There's also a possibility that Murphy might return in a secret role, given his uncredited appearance in Legacy.

Bruce Boxleitner’s Tron

The most surprising omission from Tron: Ares is Bruce Boxleitner, who played both Alan Bradley and the iconic security program Tron. In Legacy, it was revealed that CLU's bodyguard Rinzler was a reprogrammed Tron, who regained his heroic identity after falling into the Sea of Simulation.

Boxleitner's absence from Ares raises questions about the film's direction. Is the plan to make a Tron movie without Tron himself? Could Cameron Monaghan be playing a younger version of Tron? Regardless, Ares should address Tron's unresolved fate from Legacy and provide some form of redemption for the character.

The announcement of Jeff Bridges' return to the Tron franchise is perhaps the most perplexing. Both of his characters, Kevin Flynn and CLU, were killed off in Legacy. In the film's climax, Kevin sacrifices himself to destroy CLU, allowing Sam and Quorra to escape.

So, why is Bridges back for the third movie? His voice can be heard in the trailer, but it's unclear whether he's playing a living Kevin Flynn, a version of CLU, or something else entirely. Did CLU survive their shared demise? Did Flynn keep a backup of CLU? Or has Flynn transcended mortality within The Grid?

These mysteries will likely be unraveled in Ares, along with whether Ares is aligned with Flynn/CLU or the MCP. Despite our anticipation for Tron: Ares, the film's approach to resurrecting Bridges' characters while sidelining other key survivors from Legacy leaves us intrigued yet puzzled.

On a positive note, the new score by Nine Inch Nails promises to be a thrilling addition to the film.