Director Joachim Rønning Teases TRON 4 Plans, and Says the TRON: ARES Post-Credits Scene Is the Key
Director Joachim Rønning isn’t done exploring the digital frontier just yet. With Tron: Ares reigniting Disney’s cult-favorite sci-fi saga, the filmmaker already has his sights set on Tron 4, and according to him, the movie’s post-credits scene holds the key to where things could go next.
Spoilers for Tron: Ares Ahead!
Rønning revealed in an interview with GamesRadar+ that he’s already thinking beyond Ares, and it sounds like fans who stay through the credits will be rewarded.
“In this day and age, you never know where you will end up. And if we were to be that lucky, if enough people come watch it... To be able to shoot the scene [where we] bring back Sark... everybody at Industrial Light & Magic was like, 'Oh my God!'
“It was going back to the original Tron Grid, which is kind of like the holy grail of VFX, even though it was not eligible for a VFX Academy Award in 1982 because they felt it was cheating at the time.
“And then the other thing was bringing back Sark, even though it's at the very end, it's just like hinting [at] something to come. I think that would be great. I think Julian Dillinger [Evan Peters] – it's a good starting point for that continuation of that character.”
That tease sets up an intriguing direction for the franchise. Tron: Ares centers on Greta Lee’s character Eve Kim, the CEO of Kevin Flynn’s ENCOM, who is searching for Flynn’s mysterious “permanence code.”
In the Tron universe, AI can only exist outside the Grid for 29 minutes, but the permanence code could make artificial intelligence real, changing humanity forever.
Meanwhile, over at Dillinger Systems, Evan Peters’ Julian Dillinger is following in his grandfather’s villainous footsteps. He creates a military warrior AI named Ares, along with a female counterpart called Athena.
When Julian learns that Eve possesses the permanence code, he sends Ares after her. But in a classic Tron twist, the AI goes rogue, protecting Eve instead of destroying her—because he wants to use the code to become human himself.
The chaos leads to a massive city-leveling showdown, with Julian ultimately escaping into the Grid to evade capture. The post-credits scene reveals him in a suit reminiscent of Sark’s, complete with the glowing identity disc.
Even Jared Leto, who stars as Ares, has high hopes for more entries in the franchise.
“I wish there was like a Tron series, you know, I could deal with a film every year or two,” Leto says. “For me, Tron is like a favorite album or band that you listen to.
“So it has a special place in my heart. And that's kind of a cool thing to be involved with a project that you're also a fan. We're the audience as well. We're passionate about it.”
By the end of Ares, Eve has reshaped the future of ENCOM, and she’s still receiving postcards from Ares, who’s exploring the real world. Greta Lee shared that she’s eager to continue Eve’s story if a fourth Tron movie happens.
“There's so much that we could show, and given what this movie is, it really reflects the world right now,” she told GR+. “And I can't even begin to imagine how much will change by the time we get around to the next one.
“And I can only hope that we'll be able to reflect all of that, whatever that may be. And it's so complicated and dynamic and I can't wait to see what happens.”
Rønning directed Tron: Ares from a screenplay by Jesse Wigutow, with a cast that also includes Hasan Minhaj, Arturo Castro, Sarah Desjardins, Cameron Monaghan, and the legendary Jeff Bridges.
If the Tron: Ares post-credits tease is any indication, the Grid is far from powered down, and Rønning already knows exactly which circuit to light up next. I hope he gets to make that sequel!