A New TRON: ARES Detail Could Change Everything We Know About the Grid

There’s a new piece of information about Tron: Ares that might reshape the entire franchise, and it comes straight from the latest issue of Empire Magazine.

The report sheds light on what’s driving the story of this highly anticipated threequel:

“The yin to the Dillinger’s yang is Kevin Flynn’s tech company Encom, now led by Greta Lee’s Eve Kim. The Dillingers and Eve are both searching for Flynn’s ‘permanence code’, which would enable the existence of digital assets in the real world.”

The “Permanence Code” is officially a thing, and its implications are huge. If you remember the end of Tron: Legacy, Quorra, an ISO, entered the real world with Sam Flynn. The permanence code now raises a big question: Is Quorra’s existence unstable? Could her survival (and maybe other digital beings) depend on this code?

Director Joachim Rønning hinted at something along these lines months ago when he teased the film’s Pinocchio-inspired allegory, centered around a sinister digital protagonist longing for life beyond the Grid. That allegory now makes perfect sense as the permanence code is essentially the franchise’s version of “becoming a real boy.”

Interestingly, this concept was teased before. A set photo shared by Rønning on Instagram showed the word “permanence” on a script page. Now, it’s clear this is the foundation of the movie’s central conflict.

If the permanence code can pull Light Cycles, Recognizers, or even entire programs into reality? That’s a game-changer. Imagine a world where Grid tech becomes physical, opening doors to major moral and existential dilemmas, exactly the kind of big sci-fi ideas Tron thrives on.

But the real mystery is what this means for Sam Flynn (Garrett Hedlund) and Quorra (Olivia Wilde). They’ve been off the grid (literally) for 15 years, and now we’re left wondering:

Did Quorra survive without this permanence code? Is the permanence code the key to her continued existence? Or, worst-case scenario, is she already gone?

No one involved with the production has confirmed or denied their return, but this new detail makes their absence, or presence, way more interesting.

The permanence code could redefine the Tron universe, blur the line between digital and physical reality, and finally answer what happened after that fateful sunrise ride at the end of Legacy.

What do you think, will we see what happened to Quorra? Or is Tron: Ares setting up a heartbreaking twist?